


Keep Those You Care About Close

by Lunar_Viper



Category: Pokemon - Fandom
Genre: A lot of head canons, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Augustine is Ash’s dad, But that’s FINE, F/M, Family Feels, Single Dad AU, The plot will be similar to the anime but there will be changes to the timeline, This first chapter is 14 pages in my google docs, this took longer than I would’ve like to get out but hopefully it’s worth it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2020-10-12 03:11:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20557256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunar_Viper/pseuds/Lunar_Viper
Summary: When Delia dies after giving birth to her and Augustine’s son, Augustine’s left to take care of him. By the time Ash is four he was hired as Kalos’s Regional Professor. While most are surprised by the fact Sycamore of all people is the new Professor, some disapprove.The title may change in the future





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Pokémon story that I’ve ever posted aside from my chat fic. I’ve been wanting to write a story with Augustine as Ash’s dad for a while now and now that I’m more confident in my skills I’ve decided to write it!

Augustine felt like the luckiest man in the world the minute he and Delia were married. He loved her so much and anyone could tell by the way he talks about her. He loved everything about her, how warm her amber eyes were, the kindness she showed to Pokémon and people alike. He fell for her the minute they met and no one, not even Aurea, let him live down how he would blush even if he was just in her presence. 

“Congratulations you two. After so many years you’re finally married,” Aurea says walking up to the Augustine and Delia, “When I first met her, I was wondering when you’d ask her out. Seven years later you two are happily married.”

“Thank you, Aurea. If anything, it’s thanks to you that we even started dating. I’m sure we would’ve danced around each other for years,” Delia says with a small laugh. 

“You’ve been by my side for years, I’m thankful you could be here for this,” Augustine says smiling at her. Him and Aurea had been friends for years, even after she moved to Unova they kept in touch and met up again when Augustine was allowed to leave his parents’ sights. 

“Of course I’d be here for this, Auggie! This is the biggest day of your life!” Aurea said with a wide grin, “I’m glad that you chose me of all people to be your best man! Or would I considered your best woman? Anyways, I’m just surprised that you didn’t have Lysandre or your brother as your best man.”

“Aurea, you’ve been there for me for years and you’re like a sister to me, of course I would’ve chosen you!” 

Delia smiled at the two. She’s heard stories from both about each other. It was from Aurea that she found out that Augustine was head over heels for her and she had first heard of Aurea when she and Augustine were pen pals back in grade school. She kisses Augustine’s cheek softly and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I love you,” She says softly. 

Augustine has a small blush and smiles at her, “I love you too,” he says and kisses her back softly. 

“I’ll leave you two be, I’m sure there are others who want to talk to you,” Aurea says. She smiles at them before walking off. 

*********

Augustine had gotten the call from the hospital when he was at the university’s library. Delia had gone into labor while he had been gone. He had left immediately to the hospital. He was worried about Delia, it had been a month earlier than the expected due date which worried him greatly. He wasn’t allowed into the hospital room, something had gone wrong during the birth and they need to perform surgery. He had never felt so worried in his whole life. A nurse had suggested to call a family member or a friend which he did. Aurea was in class and he couldn’t get ahold of Delia’s parents so his best bet was to call his brother.

It felt like hours before his brother had shown up. He felt sick, there had yet to be any news on Delia or the child and he dreaded what could have happened. 

“August? I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” his brother says as he walks up to him. He could clearly see how antsy and worried he was. “Is there any news on them yet?” He asks softly. 

Augustine shakes his head, “N-none, I’m worried and scared for what could’ve happened.”

“I’m sure they’ll make it. I know how strong Delia is and they’re your child,” he says softly. 

“But… but what if they don’t Colress? I don’t want to think like that but it’s still a possibility,” Augustine says. He was clearly close to tears.

“If… if that does happen, we’ll be there for you. You have Aurea, Lysandre, Delia’s family, and I. We’ll help you the best we can,” Colress says. He does usually hug any but he does now. He knows his brother needs some form of comfort right now. “Where’s Delia’s parents, I thought they’d be here.”

“I tried calling them but I couldn’t get ahold of them for some reason.”

They stand there for a while, waiting for any news about the two. Colress does his best to console and comfort his older brother. Augustine is thankful for at least his brother being there for him while they wait, he’s calmed down somewhat but the feeling of dread hangs heavily. When the doctor walks out the feeling is almost suffocating. The look of sadness is clear on their face. 

“I’m sorry sir, we did everything we could but she didn’t make it,” they say. Augustine feels his world fall apart.

“W-what about my child?!” He says, tears threatening to spill. 

“He made it. He’ll be able to go home tomorrow,” 

Augustine let the tears fall, he was relieved at least his son survived but he still felt utterly heartbroken by the fact his wife didn’t. Colress wasn’t sure what to do, he’s never been in a situation like this. 

“I-I’m sorry, August,” he says softly. Soon a nurse walked out holding Augustine’s son. 

“You can hold him right now, if you’d like,” they said softly. Augustine nods softly and cradles the child in his arms. He smiles softly at his son, who was asleep. He reminded him of Delia greatly. She would be so happy right now if she were here. 

Colress had slipped away to call their parents. 

“Mom, Dad? Can you please come to the hospital? I’ll send you the location but  _ please  _ Augustine’s going through a lot right now,  _ please _ be nice,” he said in a pleading tone, “It’s not my place to say. Please, he really needs someone to be there for him and I don’t know what to do.” The line goes silent for a while before his parents answer, “Thank you, it means a lot.” He hangs up and quickly sends them the location of the hospital. 

“August? Is everything okay?” Augustine’s head shoots up to see both his parents with his brother. It was his mother speaking. 

“Whatever you have to say, I don’t want to hear it,” He says. 

“Augustine, please, what’s wrong?” His father tries to reason. 

Augustine doesn’t answer, the tears start up again, and it’s hard to breathe, “... Why do you care? You never liked Delia and you’re mad at me for being with her. So why are you here?”

“I called them here. I know you aren’t doing well. August, I know you haven’t been on good terms with them for years but they’re here for you now. I know you’re hurting, but shutting them out won’t help right now,” Colress says softly, trying to be the voice of reason. “Why now?! Why do you only care now?! You hated her but why do you suddenly care now?” He sobs, “Haven’t you hurt me enough?”

“We have no excuse, we should have realized how much you truly loved her. We both regret what did and said. I understand if you don’t forgive us, but at least let us be there for you now. I can see how much your hurting,” his father says.

Augustine looks at them, they’re all worried about him right now. He breaks down, tears falling as he sobs, “S-she didn’t make it… th-they tried to save her but in the end they couldn’t in the end,” he sobs. 

“Oh Augustine, I’m so sorry,” his mother says. 

Augustine looks at them, his eyes red from crying so hard. He sees how worried they are and how sorry they felt. He hesitates but just weakly nods. The walk over to him and hug him tightly. 

“Oh August, if you ever need anything just call, we’ll be happy to help you,” his mother says, “What do you plan on naming him?” 

He’s silent for a bit, “Ashton Olivier. Delia wanted to name him Ashton in honor of her late grandfather.”

“Let’s get you home. I can tell you haven’t been sleeping well,” she says rubbing his back softly. Augustine just nods softly. Holding his son close. 

*********

Colress went to check on his brother. Their parents decided to bring him to their home instead of his for the time being just so they can keep an eye on him or in case he needed something. HE had been there for the past few days. Colress sighed, his brother would only be staying until he was back on his feet. He knocked on the door gently but there was no reply. 

“Augustine?” He asks as he opened the door. He looked inside to see his brother asleep on the bed with his son in his cribs nearby. He was dead to the world, all the sleepless nights and the stress of the other day had really gotten to him. He frowned, he knew that it wouldn’t last long with Augustine still being a student. Given how he only had a year left before graduating but he still needed to study and go to the lectures. He left him be, knowing how much he needs the rest. 

Mew peaked through the window waiting for Colress to leave. When he finally does they sneak through the open window. 

“ _ So this is Arceus’ chosen,”  _ Mew thought looking down at the child in the crib. “ _ It’s a shame he lost his mother before he even knew her.” _

Mew made a questioning sound while looking at the child, something about him seemed familiar.

“Ash?” It was barely coherent and was very quiet. Mew looked to where the voice was and saw Augustine stirring awake. They were quick to hide when they saw him get up. Mew watched as Augustine checked on his son. He must’ve heard Mew and somehow mistaken it for his son. They were curious to see how Augustine would interact. “You have her eyes,” Augustine says softly. Ash had woken up when Augustine had come to hold him. “She would have loved you so much,” he says smiling softly had him. Mew made a move to leave but accidentally bumped into the dresser, altering Augustine of their presence. He looked up, startled slightly. There was Mew, a mythical Pokémon that was viewed as a god in some regions of the world. He was at a loss for words. Why would Mew of all things be here? Mew made a questioning noise as it looks at Augustine. 

“A-a Mew? I thought…” Augustine looked at the pink feline, surprised that one was even here, “What are you doing here?”

Mew wasn’t allowed to answer and slowly started to move back. They weren’t allowed to say, not yet at least. The chosen one had just been born hours ago, it was too soon to tell anyone. Mew left the room quickly, going back to the Tree of Beginning. 

Augustine was filled with worry. Why would a Mew just appear? What did it want? Was it a hallucination? He did pull multiple all-nighters as of late so it could have been fake. So many questions ran through his head. He held Ash close, he was worried about him greatly. If Mew was there for him, he was worried what Mew could’ve wanted. He didn’t want to think about what things could bring danger to his son, he didn’t want to think of the things that could tear his son away from him. Wasn’t losing Delia enough to Arceus?

*********

A year passes and Augustine graduated with a PHD in Pokémon Evolution. Three years later he becomes the Kalos Regional Professor. The car ride to Lumiose was long but he wasn’t all that surprised. Ash had fallen asleep on the way there. 

“Hey Ash, we’re here,” Augustine says softly. Ash didn’t stir. He sighs softly and picks him up out of the car seat. 

“Slur? Slurpuff!” Augustine smiled at Slurpuff. She had fallen asleep too but woke up realizing that the car had stopped. 

“Did you have a nice nap?” Augustine says as Slurpuff gets out of the car.

“Slurpuff! Puff puff!” She responds. She reaches up, wanting to be held too.

“You love being difficult don’t you?” Augustine says as he lifts up the Pokémon and lets her sit on his shoulders. Slurpuff just nuzzled him and sat there contently. 

“Papa?” Ash says softly as he wakes up from the movement. 

“Slurpuff!” She squealed excitedly seeing that Ash was now awake. 

“We’re finally here. Grandpa should be here soon to help unpack,” he says, “If I remember correctly, the living portion of the building is upstairs. Why don’t you go upstairs with Slurpuff and Lucario while I wait for grandpa.”

Ash nods as his dad puts him down and helps Slurpuff of his shoulders. Augustine pulls out a Pokeball to let out Lucario which gets hugged immediately by Ash. 

“Lu-Lu!” Ash says as he hugs the large jackal like Pokémon. Lucario just nods at him in acknowledgment. 

“Now you three go upstairs, I’ll be down here if you need anything,” Augustine says. Lucario nods and follows Ash and Slurpuff upstairs. 

Augustine looks around the lab area. Multiple computers were still there and some of the necessary machinery. The previous Professor had retired two months prior so it was a given when he had been called by the league and offered to be the New Regional Professor. He looked around and found an outdoor area. It had multiple battlefields. While it was common for some places to have them he was surprised to see them here. Did Lumiose already not have enough? He had seen multiple while he was driving up, he didn’t see the reason to have them here. There was a knock at the door. 

“Coming!” He called out as he walked to the door. When he got to the door it was his father and his brother, “Colress? I thought you said you had studying to do?”

“Yeah but I thought you and dad might need the help right now,” he says, “Where’s Ash and Slurpuff?”

“Upstairs with Lucario,” Augustine says, “Now we should start moving boxes. There’s plenty that needs to be unpacked from the car.”

By four o’clock everything had been moved inside and to the respective rooms. The computers were the first to be unpacked in case Augustine got any work-related emails. With the help from his dad and brother, things had gone faster luckily. 

“Good luck August, I’m sure being a regional professor will be a lot of work,” his father says as they say goodbye. 

“Thanks dad, I know it will be but I’ll be helping trainers and others with this research,” he says. 

“See you soon and make sure to call,” he says before leaving. 

Ash walked over and clung to his dad’s leg. Augustine picked him up and held him, “Is everything okay?”

Ash nods softly, “Tired,” he mumbled softly. 

“It’s been an exciting day. I’m not surprised,” he says. 

“Why does grandpa call you August? Isn’t August a month?”

“Yes but it’s also short for Augustine which is my first name,” he says, “I found an outdoor area that’s for Pokémon battles, how does it sound to turn it into a garden area for Pokémon? That way Slurpuff and the others can have a place to relax instead of just being in their Pokéball.”

“Will they still be allowed inside with us?” 

“Of course, but it’ll be nice to have considering how we live in such a busy city,” he says. Ash just nods. “Let’s get you some rest, we’ll plan it out tomorrow okay?”

“Okay, Papa,” he says tiredly. 

Augustine carries him upstairs to his bedroom. He was already half asleep when he set him down. Ash grabbed the Pikachu plush that sat by his pillow and clung to it tightly as he fell asleep. Augustine smiled at him as he slept. He took a picture which he sent to his mother and Aurea. He always sent pictures to them. Augustine’s mother loved receiving pictures of her grandson and kept them in a family album. Aurea had taken up the title of being his aunt after becoming his godmother so it was a given that she would want to see pictures of Ash. Ash always got excited when ‘Aunt ‘Rea’ would call.

Augustine headed downstairs and let his other Pokémon out. 

“Cinncino!” Said a chinchilla like Pokémon as it looked around the area. “Cino?” He asks looking up at Augustine. 

“Slurpuff’s upstairs right now and Lucario’s looking around,” Augustine says, “Ash is asleep right now so if you go up there make sure to stay quiet.”

Augustine had only brought three of his Pokémon. He had temporarily left his Sawsbuck and Chesnaught with his family until he knew what the lab was like. Once he got the garden situated, he could get the two. 

“Cinn! Cinncino!” Cinncino said as he motioned to be picked up. 

“You and Slurpuff sure are clingy today,” Augustine says as he picks up and carries the Pokémon. 

He never thought much of it until he put Cinncino on his shoulders so he could grab the box of picture frames and took them upstairs. He was putting some of them in his room when he found one of his wedding pictures. It was the one they received as a gift from Lysandre and Aurea. The two had decided to get Augustine a gift from both of them considering they were his only close friends. It was his and Delia’s wedding anniversary. He was so caught up in moving he had forgotten. He had remembered the day so clearly. He had finally married the love of his life and he wishes the happiness could’ve lasted longer. But one thing after another and she was gone. He did everything he could to balance school, work, and carrying for Ash. He was thankful his brother and parents were so willing to help. 

“Cinn…” he nuzzled his trainer softly. He had known how much Augustine had loved and cared for Delia. He did what he could to comfort him. 

“I’m okay Cinncino, don’t worry,” Augustine says scratching his ear. Cinncino let out a purr like sound from the affection. He put up the photo on the dresser next to an old highly decorated music box that had belonged to Delia. It had been given to her by her grandparents before they passed when she was a young girl. 

“Lu! Lucario!” Augustine looked behind him to see Lucario trying to get his attention to come downstairs. Augustine followed him down to see that someone was at the door. 

“Dear Augustine! It’s great to see you!” Said a tall man. 

“Lysandre! It’s good to see you too, I’m surprised you stopped by,” Augustine says letting in his friend. Lucario’s glare went unnoticed by the two adults and Cinncino gave the Aura Pokémon a worried glance.

“Of course I would, August. I hope you’re doing well. How are you and Ash?

“We’re fine. We’ve had quite the day so far. Ash got tired out pretty quickly today so he’s upstairs sleeping right now. I definitely wasn’t expecting this place to be so spacious.”

“Well considering your the Main Regional Professor now, it’s expected since you’ll need it,” Lysandre says, “Do you plan to explore and study evolution as a whole or some aspect of it?”

“I’m exploring Mega Evolution. It’s a topic I read about in my third year. It’s not that well known but it’s extraordinary. Something called Key Stones and Mega Stones were created thousands of years ago after the great weapon was fired off. It’s hard finding what was the first case of Mega Evolution but it’s assumed to be either Rayquaza or Lucario. As of right now there’s only a few species that can use it but I hope to find out more,” Augustine says. 

“I’m sure it is. Do you plan on trying to Mega Evolve your Lucario?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t do much battling any more but it really depends on what Lucario wants,” Augustine says, “Evolution is a choice I let my Pokémon make.”

“Cino?” Cinncino questions as he hops down from Augustine’s should. Lucario scoffed at Lysandre, not trusting the man. “Cinn… Cinncino Cino?” 

“Cario… Lu cari,” he says. Something felt off about Lysandre, he wasn’t the person he was seven years ago and the man’s aura made it clear. The problem was that only he could see it and the only one to believe him was Cinncino.

“I hope Ash has your considerate heart when he’s older. Not many people are like you, you constantly care more about others’ wants rather than any of your own,” Lysandre says completely oblivious to the two Pokémon’s conversation, “Delia would be so proud of you right now.”

“Ash is a lot like her when it comes to personality. Ash is just as kind as she was,” Augustine says softly. 

“You miss her a lot, don’t you,” Lysandre says looking at his friend. 

“Everyday. She was my everything and hurts being without her, I feel bad that Ash could never meet her,” Augustine says, “I won’t lie, it’s been hard to be without her these four years. I’ve kept myself together because I need to be there for Ash. He means the world to me, I don’t know what I would do if something bad were to happen to him.” The night with Mew still worried him. He hasn’t seen them since then but he’s still worried. 

“Auggie, I’m sure she’s proud of you right now. You’re raising him well and your parents are here to help too,” Lysandre says. He rests a hand on his shoulder, “Nothing bad will happen to him. He’s young still.”

“Thank you, Lysandre,” He says softly. 

Lysandre wasn’t going to lie. He thought all the hatred and wars of this world stained it and made everything ugly but Augustine and Delia were still the few pure things here. It was a shame to find out she had died. 

“I’m sure you’re tired too and I know how you sleep, you should get some rest, I can tell you’re drained,” 

Augustine gave a small laugh, “I sometimes forget that you see right through me.”

“It’s not hard when I had to deal with you passing out at some point during group study. Now go get some rest. I should head back since there’s something I have to deal with,” Lysandre says. Augustine just nods as he leaves. 

“Lucario! Cario Lu Rio!” Lucario yells when he leaves.    
“Lucario, what’s wrong?” Augustine says. Lucario was upset but he had trouble figuring out why. He was never one to just shout like that and he never did it to any of Augustine’s friends.

“Cario! Lucari!” He yells pointing at the door.    
“Lucario, calm down, I can’t understand you,” Augustine says. He had a feeling it was about Lysandre but Lucario never has acted up like this when he was around. He sighed, “Does this have to do with Lysandre?”

Lucario nodded, “Lu.”

Augustine never doubted his judgment. He could read other’s auras but right now he really wanted to. He had known Lysandre almost as long as Aurea and this was the first time Lucario ever spoke out against him. “Lucario, are you sure? I’ve known Lysandre for years.”

Lucario frowned at his trainer. Was he really going to turn a blind eye to his judgment? “Cari…”

Augustine looked at the Pokémon, Lucario’s disappointment was clear on his face. “Lucario, I know you're worried but I’ve known him for years. He’s not one to hurt someone.” Lucario scoffed and walked off, away from Augustine. Cinncino looked at the two but decided to go after Lucario, yelling for the Jackal-like Pokémon. 

Augustine headed upstairs and laid down on his bed. He looked at the ceiling. Maybe Lucario is right? So much could’ve changed since they last saw each other and Lysandre did kind of seem lost in thought when they were talking. Lysandre was always interested in preserving beauty, maybe it had turned into an obsession. He had the creeping feeling of worry go through him. If it had, how far was Lysandre willing to go? He didn’t like the thought but he knew people changed. Whether it was for the better or for the worse. Cinncino had returned from downstairs and hopped up on to the bed. He rubs his head against Augustine’s before curling up next to his head. He scratches the Pokémon’s head and smiles softly. The last thing he hears is a content noise from Cinncino before passing out.

*********

Augustine was woken up by the sudden feeling of something pressing against his chest and the soft cries of a child.

“Ash? What’s wrong?” he asks softly as he sits up and pulls him onto his lap. 

Ash clings tightly to him as he cries, “I-I had a bad dream.”

“It’s okay Ash, it’s okay,” he says softly. Cinncino has woken up and Slurpuff was there too. The joined Augustine in trying to calm down and comfort Ash, “Do you want to talk about it? It’s fine if you don’t.”

“I-I s-saw something big and sc-scary and then I got pushed into the water,” he cries. He was shaking and clung tightly to him.

“It’s okay, Ash. You’re safe, I promise,” Augustine says softly, “Nothing will hurt you, I’ll make sure of it.” 

The clock on the nightstand reads 5:07 in the morning. Ash had started to calm down slightly but showed no signs of falling back asleep.

“I’m sorry for waking you up, papa,” he says softly. 

“Don’t be Ash, it’s fine. You’re allowed to if you’re having a bad dream,” he says wiping the tears from his eyes, “I have to start getting ready for breakfast and work, do you want to come with me or do you want to try and go back to sleep?”

“Can I stay with you, papa?” He asks softly. 

“Of course, let me get some clean clothes on and I’ll meet you in the kitchen, okay? Do you think you can pull out bowls for Cinncino and the others?”

Ash nodded and followed Slurpuff and Cinncino out of the room. Augustine was quick to change out of yesterday’s clothes that he had fallen asleep in. He was about to leave when his phone went off. 

“Aurea, what do you need?” He asks as he answers the phone. 

“Do you remember the myth from the Orange Islands?”

“Yeah, it was about Lugia was it not?”

“That’s what I thought but I wanted to double-check. I’m going there next week with my dad because he wanted to research it and he thought it would be a good way for me to get some experience,” 

“That’s good. Any plans on where you want to work yet?”

“Well, I might take over for my dad in Unova when he retires. Sorry if I called you too early, by the way,” 

“No, it’s fine, I don’t mind,” he says, “I’ll have to let you go, Ash and the others are up so they’re probably hungry. We can talk more later.”

“That’s fine. Tell Ash I say hi, okay?”

“Of course, talk to you later, Aurea,” he says before ending the call. He headed into the kitchen where Ash and his Pokémon were. 

“Why do you want to turn those battlefields into a garden?” Ash asks as Augustine pulls out food for the Pokémon. 

“Because while they do battle, they do need a place to live. Pokémon like Sawsbuck prefer living in forested areas and Chesnaught is a very large Pokémon. For Pokémon like them, living indoors isn’t the best idea. If you’ve noticed, both of them prefer living in the gardens rather than indoors,” Augustine says, “They need an area to run around in so turning those battlefields into a garden would be best.”

Ash just nods softly, not questioning his papa’s decision, “Who were you talking to, papa?”

“Aurea, she wanted to double-check some information with me,” he says. He puts the food bowls down for Cinncino and Slurpuff. He handed Lucario his bowl, knowing the Pokémon wasn’t the most social out of his current ones on hand. “Speaking of which, she says hi.”

“Tell her I say hi too,” Ash says. He was trying to stay awake but it was early for him to be up. 

“You should head back to bed Ash, I can see your still really tired,” Augustine says softly, crouching down to his level. 

“I don’t wanna… I don’t wanna have that dream again,” 

Augustine pulls him into a hug, “It’s okay Ash, Nothing can hurt you, it was just a dream.”

“B-but what if it comes back, papa?” He says, tears starting to trickle down his cheeks. 

“Ash, it’s okay. The thing won’t hurt you and I’ll there for you if it does,” he says softly. He holds him close and rubs his back gently.

“P-promise?” He says softly. 

“I promise, Ash. I’ll make sure of it,” Augustine says giving him a soft smile. “Ash, you mean a lot to me. I’ll make sure you’re safe.” Ash just weakly nods. He picks him up and takes him back upstairs to his room. 

He sets him down on the bed, “Are you going to be okay or do you want me to stay with you?”

“Can you stay with me until I fall asleep papa?” He asks softly. 

“Of course,” Augustine says softly. He sits on the edge of the bed and rubs his back softly. 

“What was mama like?” Ash asks softly, looking up at Augustine, “Auntie ‘Rea and your friend about her a lot.”

Augustine was taken back slightly by the question but smiled, “She was great. She was always very kind and never lost her temper. She cared about everyone around her. She had a passion not many others had. If someone were to mess with her family or friends she would be so protective. She was the first and only person I fell in love with. She meant the world to me. She loved you before she met you. She would have loved you so much if she could see you now.”

“Will I meet her mama and papa?” He asks. He was half asleep and only somewhat listening. 

“Maybe, I haven’t been able to talk to them recently and they haven’t talked to me in a while,” he says shrugging. There were soft snores from his son. Ash had fallen asleep and was snuggling the Pikachu plush now. 

“Lu… Lucario,” said the Aura Pokémon as it stood by the door. 

“Is something wrong Lucario? Is someone at the door?” The jackal shook his head. He walked over to them and sat next to the two humans. “You’re worried about Ash, aren’t you,” Augustine says. 

“Cario…” 

“I understand your worry, I’m worried too,” he says softly, “I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have doubted you like I did.”

“Lu… Cario Lu Rio,” he says softly.

“No, don’t apologize, I should’ve listened to you. I know you’re only looking out for me and I ignored that,” Augustine says. 

Lucario looked up at him, he could tell Augustine was being sincere, “Lucario!”

Augustine gave him a small smile. He checked the time, it was almost six and he still had plenty to do today. “Keep an eye on him. I have to pick up groceries and some League officials are going to be here later,” he says, there were a few things he had to do before the arrived. Lucario nodded as Augustine got up. He rubbed the Pokémon’s head before leaving. 

Groceries had taken about an hour. When he got into the kitchen, he checked the time. It’s been two hours since he’s been up. He put away most of the groceries before he started making breakfast for him and Ash. He decided on pancakes as a treat to Ash due to the stress of the past day and from the bad dream. 

“Slurpuff!” The Pokémon called out running up to Augustine to hug her trainer. 

“Hello to you too, Slurpuff,” he says scratching her head, “Is Ash still asleep?”

“Slur!” She says nodding. 

“Can you go wake him up?” He asks. Slurpuff nods before running off to get the younger human. Augustine finishes up making a plate for Ash as he walks in with Lucario and Slurpuff behind him. 

“Morning, Papa,” he says softly as he sits at the table. Slurpuff is insistent on sitting by him and tries to get on the chair next to his.

Augustine walks over and sets the plate down in front of Ash, “Good morning, did you sleep a little better?”

“Yeah,” He says as he starts to eat his pancakes. 

“Some League officials will be here later this afternoon just to let you know, okay?”

“Why?”

“They just want to go over some things with me,” he says. He finishes cooking up the rest of the batter. Some go onto his plate the rest go onto another to either be put away in the fridge or if Ash wants more. 

*********

“This is just great,” groaned Augustine. One of the computer monitors was broken and some of the chords for them needed replacements, “How in the name of Arceus does someone manage this? Especially a professor of all people!”

“What’s wrong, Papa?” Ash says looking from behind the doorway.

“Some of the equipment is broken,” he says, “I’ll have to take pencil and paper notes until I can get it fixed or replace them.”   
“Why is it broken?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Why they didn’t replace when it first broke in the first place?” He muttered to himself. “I’ll have to ask where I can even get these replaced, I don’t think there’s many computer shops around.” Ash just nodded as he looked at his papa. Augustine looked to see there was a second broken computer but it was on the floor. He was careful about grabbing it and the screen was shattered with the glass from it scattered on the floor where it was. He let out a groan as he saw the mess.

Ash frowned as he saw his papa’s upset face, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just another broken computer. I don’t think you should come in here. There’s broken glass and I don’t want you getting hurt,” he says. Ash just nods before running off. He grabbed a broom and dustpan from one of the upstairs closets to sweep up the broken glass. He prayed to Arceus that there wasn’t any more broken equipment.

*********

Ash was looking around the main level with Lucario following close behind him when he came across his papa’s study. There he sat looking over multiple books and had his spare laptop with him. He walked over to him and looked up ath the desk on his toes trying to see what he was looking at.

“What are you reading, papa?” Ash asks looking at the books that were crowding his desk. 

“Myths that are similar to Rayquaza’s. There’s only a few though that happened early enough for there to be a connection with mega-evolutions,” he says. “Considering that Rayquaza has one, there’s a chance other legendary’s had them.” Ash looked at the books but couldn’t tell what they said. He scrunched his face in confusion from the words. 

“Why are the words like that?”

“Because it’s in Kantonian. Since the myths of Lugia and the Legendary Birds originated there, most of the books will be in that language,” he says. He pulls Ash onto his lap so he could get a better look of the books and flipped to a page showcasing the Legendary Pokémon. 

“That’s what I saw last night,” Ash says pointing to Lugia. Augustine gave his son a concerned look. How? He was sure this was the first time even hearing of Lugia but even then, what could have caused him to have a nightmare of it?

“Are you sure? There’s a chance it could’ve been something else,” he says. 

“No papa, I know I saw that,” he says, frowning slightly. 

“If you say so,” he says. Augustine frowns, he hoped that the legendaries wouldn’t be involved with Ash’s life after meeting Mew but if Ash had a dream about Lugia he was worried to say the least. No four year old should have to deal with the fear brought by legendaries. 

“Is something wrong papa?” Ash says softly looking up at his papa. He could see that he was worried. Or was he scared? He knew something was wrong. 

“I… It’s fine, Ash,” he says, “Don’t worry about it too much.” He was naturally worried about Ash but would never admit his worry over the legendaries until he knew what was going on. He hoped this had nothing to do with Mew’s visit but he knew that he would be proven wrong most likely in the coming years. He hated to admit it but he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep Ash safe forever. If he was going to be involved with them, there’s no telling what could happen. 

“Lucario!” the pokemon said as it entered into the office and tried pulling Augustine up. 

“They’re already here?” Augustine asks. Lucario nods, letting go of his arm. “Alright, I’ll be right there.” 

He heads to the door and when he opens it he’s immediately greeted by three gym leaders, the elite four, and the champion.

“When I was told we finally got a new Regional Professor, I wasn’t expecting you of all people,” Malva says raising an eyebrow at the man in question. He lets them in, ignoring Malva’s comment.

“Augustine, it’s been a while. I’m surprised you decided to become a professor, you always had a passion for battling. What changed?” Ramos asked. 

“It has been a while, eighteen years I think,” Augustine says, “One thing lead to another after my time in Kanto and I decided to study Pokémon evolution.”

“You’re rather young for a pokemon professor, it think the youngest the league has had was Elm or Magnolia when they first started,” Drasna said, “Who’s the little one?” She asks taking notice of Ash who was next to Lucario. 

“He’s my son,” Augustine says.    
“Shouldn’t he be with his mother? This is a lab,” Diantha says, the frown on her face was quite present.

“I don’t appreciate your words. My wife passed away four years ago,” Augustine says, “I’ve been raising my son by myself with the help of my parents and brother.”

“Then have him stay with your parents during the day,” 

“They live four hours out. While I respect you as our champion, I don’t respect you at all as a person. Champion or not, I think that being a little more considerate will do you well,” Augustine says to the young woman. Lucario has Ash stay where he is and cuts in between the two. He was glaring daggers at Diantha, not appreciating how she was talking to his trainer or how she talked about Augustine’s son. 

“Cario!” he yelled out.    
“Lucario, calm down,” Augustine says, “I can handle this myself.”

“Diantha, all due respect but Augustine is far from incompetent. Considering his age and the fact he has a son, he did fine balancing things between work and family,” Olympia says as she rested her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder to get her attention, “I remember that there have been countless times where you’ve had to cancel battles because of poor scheduling to accommodate your other carrier. The only reason you’ve stayed a champion is due to the fact to one can defeat you.” 

“Ignore them for now. Diantha is still rather new, she’s been the champion for two years now but I’m sure Olympia can knock some sense into her,” Wolfric says, “Anyways, how has been so far? You just got here yesterday if I’m correct.”

“Yes, I’ve managed to get some work done earlier but some of the equipment is broken. So far it’s been two computers but I haven’t found anything else as of now,” Augustine says.   
“Were they broken when you got here?”

“Yes. One has a broken screen and the other is broken beyond repair,” Augustine says. He looks at Lucario with worry as he walks back over to Ash and leads him upstairs.

“Is something wrong Augustine? You seem off,” Ramos says.

“I’m just worried about Lucario. He’s been extremely defensive and protective lately. I know he can sense things we can’t which worries me,”

“Can they now?” Malva says. His choice of words seemed questionable, “What “other things” are you referring to?”

“They aren’t called the Aura Pokémon for nothing,” Augustine says, “They use it as their main attack and they can use it to read others' emotions or if they can trust them. Humans can sense aura… at least not anymore. It hasn’t been done in almost a thousand years.”

“Not many people know about Aura Guardians, I’m surprised you do,” Wikstrom says, “You said earlier that you study Evolution, not history.”

“My friend studies myths and my father has a book on it, so I’m bound to hear about it at least once,” Augustine says.

“Interesting,” he says, “As a professor of evolution, what do you plan on studying exactly?”

“Mega-Evolution, it was always something I found intriguing but there’s little information on it and few actually know about it,”

“Gurkinn may be able to help you. He’s a Mega Evolution Guru and knows quite a bit on it, I’m sure he’d be willing to help you,” he says.    
“I still don’t think he’s fit for this job! He may have graduated he may not be able to manage being a father and a professor!” Diantha says.

“Diantha, we all thought that about you considering how demanding your job as an actress is but we gave you a chance. You should do the same for Augustine,” Olympia says.

Augustine sighed and walked up to Diantha, “I understand you don’t trust me and don’t want to give me a chance but it won’t discourage me. I worked hard to be where I am, I’m not dropping all this work just because someone like you doesn’t want me here. If you can at least respect that then I don’t think we should have that many problems.” 

“Fine, if you want to prove yourself as our new professor, then I’ll check on your progress every two months. If you aren’t behind on research then I will put my trust in you,” Diantha says.

“Fine, whatever is necessary,” Augustine says.

“You don’t have to do that, Augustine. Diantha, you’re being unreasonable,”

“Not that unreasonable if dear Augustine is willing to do it,” Diantha says.

“Diantha, you are though. You just met him, I get you doubt him but most of the people have met him before and think he’s capable,” Malva says, “I generally respect your decisions but I don’t respect this.”

“If he’s so capable then he should be able to prove it,” Diantha argues.

“It’s fine if she doesn’t believe me, I’ll just have to prove it to her,” Augustine says.

Ash hugged Lucario tightly as he heard the adults downstairs raise their voices. He had heard what the lady in the white said about him and it made him upset. Was he really going to be in the way of his papa’s work?    
“Rio…” Lucario muttered as he hugged Ash. He didn’t like that Diantha woman one bit. She has no right to disrespect either of them. He can tell Ash had a strong aura and knew it could bring danger. He also knew how must his trainer worried about Ash and Lucario started worrying about him. Why does he have such a strong aura? Lucario wish he knew but for now it would remain unknown. The was something pecking at the window of the room. Lucario looked up and saw a Fletchling standing on the windowsill.

“Lu Rio,” he said to Slurpuff who was laying against the two. Slurpuff nodded and hopped up onto the desk that sat by the window to let the Fletchling in. Slurpuff quickly closed it as Fletching flew in. They landed next to Ash and transformed back into their original form. Lucario and Slurpuff were taken back by the sight of Mew.    
“Mew…” says softly and nuzzles Ash’s cheek. Ash looked up at them. He scratched them behind the ears which made them purr softly. 

“Mew Mew Mew!” They said excitedly as they got attention from him. 

“Slur… puff?” Slurpuff asked the small cat Pokémon. 

“Mew! Mew Mew Mew!” they said as they flew around Ash. Ash didn’t pay much attention to Lucario’s and Slurpuff’s reaction. He was in awe of the Pokémon that had once appeared as a Fletchling. Mew nuzzled against Ash, wanting more attention from him. He happily gave them scratches and was happy to pet the fine and soft fur. Lucario and Slurpuff were taken back to find out that their trainer’s son was Arceus’s Chosen One. That’s why Mew was here? To check on the small child? Lucario wasn’t sure how to tell Augustine this and neither of them was sure if they even _ could _ tell him. For now, they’d just let this happen, Ash was in a better mood which was mattered. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it’s been nearly three months since the first chapter! I had the second one written but then I realized a mistake in the timeline with Eris so I had to rewrite the second chapter and the other will be the third chapter.
> 
> *Edit- I went back and changed the wording mistakes and grammar

Augustine felt drained now that the incident with Diantha was over. He had how she talked so lowly of him and made his son just seem like a distraction. He knew that not everyone had empathy but was making him seem utterly incompetent really necessary? Hell, was her being there truly necessary! That woman would be the death of him, wouldn’t she? He understood that a champion was supposed to check on new professors but that was really uncalled for. But like her, he was still new to his job. He still had to learn the ins and outs of some of the equipment and had to be prepared for any new trainers. He just decided to let it slide for now, hoping she wouldn’t be like that in the months to come.

He went upstairs, wanting to check on Ash. He saw him head up stairs after Diantha had made her opinion known. He was naturally worried about him, while kids couldn’t understand some words, they could understand tones of voice. 

“Ash?” he looks into the room to see he was with two of his three Pokémon and a wild one. How had they gotten in here?

“Papa!” Ash says startled slightly. He got a better look of the Pokémon, it was a Fletching and it was off colored. While it wasn’t unheard of, it was still extremely rare for Pokémon to be a color aside from their shiny or normal patterns. The Fletchling chirped in surprise, seeing another human enter the room. 

“Who’s your little friend?” he asks, sitting on the floor by the bed.

Ash frowned, he knew that in their normal form they were a Mew but this wasn’t it. Mew was a pink cat, right now they were a pink and grey bird, “I don’t know, papa. Slurpuff let them in when they were on my window.”

“Is that so? The Pokémon's name is Fletchling, they’re quite common here,”

“Then why did you ask if you already knew?” Ash pouts.

“I wanted to see if you knew. It’s fine that you didn’t, they weren’t as common back home,” he says, “Well if Fletchling plans on staying, I can’t get some food meant for them.”

“Really! You’ll let them stay!”

“I don’t see why not, they seem to like you,” Augustine says. Mew chirped happily at the adult. Given that even with their strange coloration, Augustine didn’t question it. They knew that Augustine had grown to question and have a distrust towards legendary Pokémon due to them accidentally revealing themselves when they visited Ash for the first time. Arceus wasn’t happy about him question the legendary Pokémon but after seeing his worry for Ash, they let it go. After they found out Mew has caused his distrust, they had tasked them with watching over Ash. As Arceus’s Chosen, it meant one usually was tasked with watching over him and originally it had been Lugia but until the two meet, Mew was to keep watch. 

“Fletch!” they says and flying onto his shoulder and bumping their head against his.

“Fletchling likes you, papa!” Ash says looking at the two with amazement. “Did you ever catch one?”

“No, the only fire types I had were a Charizard and a Chandelure,” he says, “They’re in Kanto right now with Professor Oak. Once the garden gets built, they’ll be transferred to here.” Ash looks at him with amazement. Ash looked up to him ever since he heard about his papa’s journey. “Ash, are you okay? I know you heard what Diantha said.”

“... Is it really bad that I’m here?”

“Of course not. While it’s not safe for you to be in the lab were all the equipment is, it’s not like you misbehave or are careless,” he says.

“But she-,” Ash starts but was cut off.    
“Don’t take those words to heart. Ash, it’s okay that you’re here and some of her words were inconsiderate,” he says. 

“But what if I get you in trouble, Papa?”

“Why would you? I highly doubt they would have hired me if I was going to get in trouble for having you here,” Augustine says, “Ash, you shouldn’t let people bring you down, especially people you just met.” Ash just nods softly. Augustine sits next to him on the bed and pulls him into a tight hug. 

“Cino!” Cinncino says as he tried joining the hug. Slurpuff sits next to him, wanting to join the hug. Augustine pulls the two smaller Pokémon in and Ash hugs them both. Lucario joins the hug two, given he was a bit hesitant. 

*********

Augustine had barely been Professor for three months when he got an email from Diantha telling he’d be getting a ward at the end of the week. Why? Because the adult, Fedèli he learned later, that originally had the child as a ward had left for family reasons. The child themself was an eleven year old girl who barely looked nine. According to Diantha, she had originally helped the previous professor out with certain Pokémon and was rather distant towards people. It was nice that she offers to help around the lab but as his ward, he couldn’t allow it. The sole reason she was here was to make sure she was doing her work and preparing for the final exam that would allow her to compete in the battle demonstration and against an elite. During this time, he had also gotten an assistant. Sophie had been working with him for less than a month right now. They had first met when Diantha had stopped by to check on his work. Apparently she also wanted to see if needed any lab assistants which he was more than grateful for. Sophie was looking to be an assistant just to see if becoming a professor would be a good career choice. She had been a great help aside from the times she would come into work to find out he had been working all night.

It’s been three weeks since the email and two and a half since Eris arrived. The girl was quiet, only giving verbal responses when needed. Eris would normally work in the spare room in the lab that Augustine had yet to find a use for or her room if she couldn’t be in the garden. As of right now, the girl was in neither of the two rooms and Augustine wanted to check on her to make sure she was okay. He saw her through the window of the garden sitting with some of the Pokémon. 

“Eris, did you finish the work you were given?” Augustine asks, seeing the girl sitting in the garden with her Riolu and Mawile. That raised a few questions considering that she needs at least three Pokémon of the same type. The girl looked at him before nodding softly and turning back to the Pokémon sitting on her lap.

“Yes, sir,” she mutters softly. 

He walks over to her with a slight frown. “Is something wrong, Eris?” He asks crouching next to her. 

“I’m fine. I’m just taking a small break. Is the boy your son?” she says, really only half acknowledging the conversation.

Augustine nodded, “Yes, he is. Is all your work done?”

“Yes, sir,” she says. All of her answers sound robotic or programed, it’s always the same “I’m fine”, “Yes, sir”, or “No, sir” unless asking a question or having to explain why she’s doing something.

“Rio!” the tiny Riolu said bumping his head against Augustine’s arm. Augustine scratches Riolu’s ears as Riolu squeals in delight. Eris smiles at her Riolu as he adores the Professor’s touch. He was rarely okay with people touching him even light so this came as a surprise to her. 

“Is it true that I need to know Galarian to be a Gym Leader?”

Augustine’s slightly surprised by her question but answers her anyways, “No, but it is helpful in case someone who isn’t a Kalos native challenges you. I can teach you Galarian if you’d like,” he says. 

She eyes widened, “You do not have to, you have been nice enough. But thank you for the offer.”

“I have no problem with it, I just need to know if it works for you,”

“Sir, you’re busy as it is. I don’t need to add another weight to your shoulders,”

Augustine took a deep sigh before replying, “It really is no problem at all, I am already teaching Ash Kantonian.”

“Why?”

“It’s his mother’s native language,”

“Mother? Shouldn’t his mother teach him then?” She gave him a confused look, her brows furrowed. Augustine gave a tired sigh and shook his head. This made her confusion grow, “Why not? It’s her native language.”

“Because she can’t, Eris. We’ll leave it at that,” he replies, “Now, I know you still need to train today.”

“But-,”

“I said to drop it Eris,” he says, his voice sounding unusually cold and upset. 

She nods and frowns at his answer to her question. She doesn’t understand why he won’t answer, she was sure it was just a harmless question. She sets Riolu down and stands up, going over to the battlefield the Professor kept in the garden. 

*********

“Why doesn’t Professor Sycamore talk about his wife?” Eris’s message to Astrid. Today, she had to shadow the older woman in the gym and keep track of how she ran it. As of right now, the two were taking a break and letting their Pokémon run around the battlefield, Riolu being an exception and sleeping in Eris’s lap instead. 

“Oh sweetie,” the older woman sighed, “This is a better question for him than me. She was his wife and even then, it’s really not any of our business,” she replies. 

“I already did, he didn’t say why and dropped the topic,” she replies, frowning. 

“Then it means it’s not for us to know. There are some topics that people don’t like to talk about because they’re private or it hurts to talk about,” she explains.

“Like what?”

“Eris, I recommend you drop it. I know you didn’t grow up with your parents around constantly, but please, you need to be empathetic and know when to drop certain topics. Sometimes people fall out of love and that is what could’ve happened to the Professor and his wife but it doesn’t make it our business,” Astrid says sternly. Eris just nods and quickly grabs Riolu as he almost rolls off her lap. Astrid a small laugh at the Pokémon, he was still young and nowhere near battle ready. “So who will be your next team member? I recommend another fairy type because your Riolu is still rather young and your other Pokémon will be battle ready long before him.”

She just shrugs, she’s not entirely sure yet about what her other team member should be. “Maybe a Ralts or Mime Jr. would be a good fit?”

“Both would be good, especially if someone has a poison type,” Astrid says, “I’d say, get a Mime Jr. and see how things turn out. They can be quite moody about their trainer,” Astrid says. She pauses for a second, thinking, before speaking again, “Then again, Ralts are rather picky about who they choose.”

Eris nods and pulls Riolu closer, making sure he doesn’t fall again.

“Al! Altaria!” Astrid’s Altaria yells as a young trainer walks in with a large cylindrical container in hand. Eris looks at the bird-like Dragon in surprise and calls her Pokémon to her side. Astrid returns all of hers but Hawlucha. 

“How nice, it was starting to get a little dull around here,” Astrid says smirking. It was always her smirk that made Eris’s skin crawl, it was playful yet it felt cruel. Everyone had to battle her at least twice before passing on to Laverre’s gym due to her sheer strength.

The kid tended up and panicked, “N-no! I’m not here for a battle!” He yelps, “My dad just wanted to give something to you!”

Astrid sighs and walks over to the boy. It’s Brendon “Ruby” Birch, Professor Birch’s son and youngest kid. “What does he want to give me now?”

“I-I Uh…” he says, falling over his words. The powerful and threatening aura the woman gave off was intimidating to a smaller and younger person such as himself. 

“Just hand it over!” Astrid says, annoyed with the kid at this point. She muttered something neither trainer could make out. He anxiously hands her the container. “An incubator? Why now?”

“I-I don’t know! He found an egg outside town and no Pokémon was watching over it or came back for it,” Brendon says, his body tensing up and his footing shifting as if he were getting ready to make a run for it if she attacked, “He said a few Pokémon in the wild already tried attacking it.”

“Tell him Professor Sycamore is watching over it. I don’t have the time with having to run the gym now and have to help the next Lumiose gym leader,” Astrid scuffs. 

“N-new?”

“I plan on quitting soon, I don’t want to dedicate my whole life to this, honestly. There are things I’d like to do that I really can’t as a gym leader,” She says, “He’ll understand.”

“O-okay,” he says, “But who’s Professor Sycamore?”

“The new Kalos Regional Professor. Jeez kid, are you living under a rock?” She say. She crosses her arms and rolls her eyes at the kid, “Eris here can deliver it to him since she’s head to his lab at the end of the day?”

“W-who?”

Astrid has to take a deep breath to keep herself from yelling at the kid, “Her,” she hissed, pointing at the small blue haired girl who was sitting on the bleachers. 

“O-oh, my bad,” he says, walked backwards, “W-well, I should get going!” He yells before running off. 

“I think you scared him, Miss Astrid,” Eris says.

“Heh, kid deserves it, I’d say. He’s so damn oblivious sometimes. He was there to find out Castanea was retiring and you were the only other person in the gym,” she sighs. She ushers Eris over and has the girl follow her, “C’mon, we need to feed the Pokémon now, it’s lunch time for them.” Eris nods and hops off the bleachers to follow the older woman and her Hawlucha. 

*********

Augustine sighed tiredly as he finished looking through and signing all the paperwork in front of him. He still had emails to answer and he still wasn’t in a good mood from the day prior. He knew Eris was like any child, questioning anything that wasn’t normal for them. She wasn’t vocal about her questions often but this was the first time for her to be so curious about something. He had looked into her files from the school again and read further into them. Originally he had only done so to see what he had gotten himself into but now he read further and learned that her aunt was her primary caretaker before moving to Johto seven months prior and that the sole reason she had needed to become someone’s ward was because her parents weren’t home often do to their job as anthropologists. She didn’t even live with her aunt though which he found strange. Eris clearly wasn’t one who interacted with people often and even then, it didn’t seem intentional either. 

“Sir, is everything okay?” Sophie asks, peaking into his office, “You’ve been rather off today.”

“Yes, I’m fine,” he answers as he moves the papers aside, “Why do say this?”

“You got sort of short with Eris earlier,” she says. 

“If I did, I didn’t mean too,”

“Professor, you don’t normally get short with anyone, especially kids,” Sophie says, “Did something happen?”

Augustine stares at his computer for a few seconds. He was short with Eris this morning and last night, wasn’t he? “I was… she brought up Delia yesterday when she was asking about Ash.”

“What did she say?”

“She just was asking about where she was and why wasn’t she the one teaching him Kantonian. I had to tell her to drop it twice before she actually did,” he sighs. 

“Then you should apologize to her and explain that your wife is a sensitive topic. She’s not dumb, she’ll understand,”

“Yes but she’s twelve, Sophie. She’s young and naive, there are many things that are unfamiliar to her,” Augustine says. 

“I know, but you still should,” she says, frowning at the man in front of her. 

“Sophie, she is a child! This is something far beyond her and she’s been alone almost her whole life! I doubt she’d understand!” Augustine yells. 

“Augustine Sycamore, she is a child and she is young, but that doesn’t mean you don’t explain this to her! Ash is eight years younger than her but he understands, she will understand!” Sophie yells back, “You will apologize to her and explain to her what’s wrong whether you like it or not! She is your ward and she’s young and impressionable. She looks up to you and you shutting her down like this will hurt her!” She glares at Augustine as the man looks at her with surprise due to the sudden outburst. “I’m sorry for yelling but I still stand by what I said, sir.”

“Of… of course,” he says softly, “You’re right, I shouldn’t have been short with her and I just should keep her in the dark like this. Oh Sophie, I’ve made a mistake.”

“You have and you need to fix it,” she says, “When she gets back from the Lumiose Gym, you are going to apologize to her.”

“I know, that’s what I plan on doing Sophie,” he says. 

“Good,” she says, her glare softening before walking out. She knew he was still hurting over the loss of his wife but it wasn’t an excuse to get short with Eris. The girl didn’t know her limits and her home life was slightly sheltered, she didn’t know any better. She knew she’d have to talk to the young girl about it later. The girl is closeted as it was, Augustine getting short with her and being agitated with her most likely made it worse. 

*********

Augustine paced the room anxiously, Eris wasn’t back yet and she was usually back by now. The clock read seven o’three, she was supposed to be back over thirty minutes ago and it wasn’t like her to come back late. Did he really upset her that much? He hoped not but he knew it was most likely the case. 

“Papa? What’s wrong?” Ash asks tiredly as he saw his father pacing. Augustine stopped and looked over to see Ash in the entryway of the front room, clutching the Pikachu plush tightly. 

He scooped him up in his arms, “Waiting for Eris. Is something wrong Ash?”

He shook his head and leaned tiredly against his father, “You look scared,” he mumbles. 

“I’m not scared, just nervous,” Augustine says, sighing softly, “She’s usually back from Astrid’s Gym by now.”

“Okay,” he murmurs tiredly, “Can I stay with you until she’s back?” 

“Sure but when she is, I’m putting you to bed because it’s getting late for you,” he says. Ash just nods softly and tiredly clings to the plush and his father. 

“Papa, do you still love me?” Ash asks softly, curling his arms around his plush tightly and letting go of his father. 

Augustine gave him a worried look, “Of course I do, you’re my son. What makes you think I don’t?”

“Eris… you spend a lot of time with her,”

“Oh Ash, I love and care for you both equally,” Augustine says, “I know I’ve had to help her out a lot but I try to spend my time equally with you. I’m so sorry I’ve made you feel like that, I never meant to.’

“Why is she here?”

Augustine sighed tiredly, he really needs to start expecting these questions, “Because of my job and the job she’s training to get, the league has her under my care as my ward. Until her parents can take care of her or until she’s a gym leader, I’m the one taking care of her.”

“What’s a ward?”

“I guess in easy terms, I take care of her as if I was her parent or a family member,”

“So she’s like your daughter?”

“I guess, it’s-”

“So she’s my sister?”

“What?”

“If she’s like your daughter, it means she’s my sister, papa!”

“I mean, that’s true but she’s only my ward, Ash,”

“But you just said she’s like your daughter?”

“I did but that doesn’t make her my daughter, Ash,” Augustine sighs.

“But papa, you said she was like your daughter,” Ash whines.

“Ash, that’s not what I’m saying,” Augustine says, trying to explain this to his son. Ash pouts at him and Augustine just gives up. He’s not sure why Ash convinced himself that Eris is his sister but he guesses that it’s better to just go with it then break Ash’s heart.

It’s another ten minutes before she enters into the lab. She has Mawile following behind her and the incubator in hand. Mawile looked angry and ready to fight on command, something very uncommon for the normally laid back Pokémon. 

“Eris, where have you been?” Augustine asks, his voice raised and uneasy. 

“Astrid has me stay back a little longer to help clean up the gym and feed the Pokémon and on my way back, I was stopped by someone named Ruby to make sure I gave this egg to you,” she says nervously. 

“Ruby?”

“Astrid said he was Professor Birch’s son,” she says softly, “He doesn’t trust me because he thinks I’m going to keep the egg for myself and thinks I’m lying about my age.”

“Let’s get the egg dealt with then you can eat. I’ll call Professor Birch in the morning about his son, if you’d like,” Augustine says, “Do you know what’s in the egg?”

“No, no one does because Professor Birch found in in the forest by itself,” she says. 

“Interesting,” he muses, “I’ll take the egg and you can go eat, okay?” She nods and hands him the egg. Mawile glares at Augustine before following Eris up the stairs. He sighs tired and takes the egg into his office so it’s easier to monitor through the day. Ash had fallen asleep at some point while waiting for Eris so he took him to his room before going to talk to her. 

“Eris, I need to talk to you,” he says softly, taking a seat across from her. 

“Why sir?” she asks cautiously.

“Because I need to apologize for yesterday,” he says, “I shouldn’t have gotten short with you. Eris-”

“It’s fine, I’m used to it,” she says, cutting him off.   
“What?” he asks, she’s eleven for Xerneas’s sake! That should never be a response from an eleven year old in such a situation!

“Mom always responded that way when I would ask her anything while she was working. When she still lived at home, she was always working at the dining room table and if I interrupted her work, she’d get mad,” Eris says shrugging, “Don’t you get the same with Ash when you’re working?”

“Of course not! Even if I’m working, I can put it aside for a second when Ash needs something,” he says, “Eris, if you ever need something while I’m working let me know, okay? I’m not going to get mad.”

“You got mad yesterday when asking about Ash’s mother,”

“Eris… that’s different,” he sighs, “Delia, my wife, is no longer here and it’s hard for me to talk about. It’s been four years but it’s still a hard topic for me. I still shouldn’t have gotten short with you for asking about her, I should’ve expected that question.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for asking then, sir,” she says, avoiding eye contact with him.

“No, don’t be, Eris. I know that this isn’t very common and I know that your life is most likely very different from Ash’s and mine,”

“Are you sure, sir?”

“I’m sure, Eris. I know you’re only a child, I understand that you’re only naturally curious.” Augustine says.

“Okay, sir,” she says.

“You don’t need to call me sir, Eris. Augustine is fine,” he says.

“I-I don’t know…” she answers hesitantly.

“That’s fine but still, you don’t need to call me sir,” he says. She just nods and goes back to eating her dinner. Augustine sighs and goes back down stairs to finish up his work. He still has work to do before the day’s end and wants to get a start on tomorrow’s work.

*********

“Eris, where in the world have you been?” Augustine exclaims as he watches the girl open the door to the garden. Today was one of the few days she had no school work or had to shadow Astrid but she still had been gone half the day. It wasn’t too late in the day but it was well into the afternoon and the girl was barely even twelve yet. She wouldn’t be twelve until September, another two months, but she still was young and wasn’t even a traveling trainer as of right now.

“I went to get a new team member because Astrid said I’d need a third and even you’ve asked about it. Astrid mentioned that a Mime Jr. would be a good fit for my team,” she says. Augustine raises an eyebrow. While they were much friendlier than Hattenas, they truly weren’t much better if they didn’t like you.

“Are you sure that was a good idea? I know that they can get rather… picky about their trainer,” he says rubbing the back of his neck, “Did you at least have Mawile and Floette with you? I noticed Riolu was in the garden without you.”

“I had them both with me,” she says. She quickly tried steadying herself against the door as Ash barreled into her legs.

“Hi!” he says excitedly. If there’s one thing Augustine noticed between the two children, it’s that they didn’t get along often. Eris did have energy but not as much as Ash did most days meaning she would hide away in her room when he was full of energy. It’s harder with their age difference too but on the rare occasion they did get along, they would play in the garden. 

“Fletch!” Ash’s Fletchling cries excitedly, landing on Eris’s shoulder. 

“How about we go into the garden and we can meet your Mime Jr.,” Augustine suggests, “I’m sure that’s why you came over,” he says, giving Ash a knowing look.

“Please, Eris!” Ash ask, bouncing on the heels of his feet. 

She just nods softly and follows Ash back into the garden. Riolu took notice and ran up to her excitedly. He pawed at her, begging to be picked up and held. She picks him up and puts him on her shoulders as she kneels down. Augustine sits next to her as Ash Stands to her side.

She lets the Pokémon out and they immediately squeal in delight, “Mime!” Eris smiles at the Pokémon before she gives them a look of confusion. Mime Jr. was glaring at Riolu and started to change an attack. Augustine was the first to respond by taking Riolu’s Pokéball and moving Eris out of the way right before Mime Jr. launched it. 

“W-what?” She asks, trying to figure out why Mime Jr. just tried to attack Riolu. Mime jr. hid behind Ash and glared at Eris and Riolu’s Pokéball.

“You aren’t hurt at all are you, Eris?” Augustine asks.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” She stutters, shaken up by what just happened. 

“Papa, why doesn’t Mime Jr. like Riolu?”

“I don’t know. My guess is that it’s just typing. Sometimes Pokémon of opposing types don’t like each other,” Augustine says, “They seem to like you and it’s not right to release them. If we can at least make it so the two don’t fight, we can have Mime Jr. live in the garden but we can’t force them to be friends.”

“Can I help them, papa?” Ash asks. Mime Jr. has seemed to take comfort in Ash’s arms and babbling happily to him and Fletchling. Eris and Augustine exchanged cautious glances before agreeing to something.

“Sure but come get one of us if they start fighting,” Augustine says.

“Do you think Ralts would be a good third team member?” Eris asks.

“Yeah but maybe have Riolu with you next time because we don’t need a repeat of this,” he says, “You two should get cleaned up and I’ll start on dinner.”

“Okay papa,” Ash says as he gets up, caring Mime Jr. still, “Can I give Mime Jr. a nickname?”   
“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Eris says, “I don’t really nickname mine but you can nickname them.”

Ash bounced on his heels and smiled brightly, “How about Mimey?” Mime Jr. squealed at the name and smiled at the young boy. 

“Mimey it is, I see,” Augustine says smiling at the two, “You can let Riolu out of the Pokéball once we feed the Pokémon, okay?”

Eris nods and puts his Pokéball back in her bag, “Do you want a hand with it?”

“No, don’t worry about it right now, just get washed up and ready for dinner,” Augustine says as he opens the door for the two kids.

Dinner luckily went smoothly and there were no problems while Mimey and Riolu ate. Mimey did try some of his food but found it much too bitter for their liking. Eris laughed at the Pokémon’s reaction to the food, even though he’s young, Riolu loves spicy and bitter foods. Augustine always found it strange but let the Pokémon enjoy since it wasn’t hurting him but the same couldn’t be said for Mimey. Augustine offered them a sweeter berry to get rid of the taste from the food.

“Eris, would you mind helping me with dishes after I put Ash to bed?” Augustine asks, picking up the tired boy. He was already half asleep and it was getting late now. 

“Of course,” she says as she sat up. Augustine picked up Ash and took him to his room for the night as Ash tiredly clung to his father.

“Night-night, Neesan,” Ash mutters tiredly as he waves to Eris. The girl gave him a confused look as she tried to think about what he said means. It wasn’t anything that sounded familiar and doesn’t sound like any word that would make sense in this context. From Augustine’s small laugh, she assumed it was good or silly but she was confused on what he just called her.

Eris stood at the sink, drying dishes from dinner as Augustine washed them. He had he put them to the side of the sink since she had trouble reaching the sides, so he would put them away once they were all done. 

“Professor, do you think I’ll be able to become a Gym Leader?”

“I think so. Sure, you’ll have to put more work in depending on your next team member, but you work hard towards it and you’ve started giving some of my Pokémon some trouble,” he says. 

“Like who?” She says, surprised by that her Pokémon are giving more experienced ones trouble. 

“You won’t see Lucario admit it but Mawile’s show a lot more resistance towards his Bullet Punch and Aura Sphere,” he says with a small laugh, “I’m sure you’ve noticed how Appletun is having some trouble withstanding your Floette.”

Eris smiles, “Yeah, I guess I really am improving. Thank you for helping me,” she says with a small smile. 

“Of course,” Augustine says, “You just have to try hard to get to your goal, I know this from experience. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but you’re the only trainer Lucario has become willing to challenge. I have seen that in over ten years.” She nods and takes the last plate to dry it. “I’ll put these away and you can go. I’ve got things covered in here. 

“Is there anything else you need help with?”

“No, I’ve got everything covered you can do whatever now,” he says as he put the plates back in the cupboard, “Just so you know, my brother’s stopping by tomorrow. He goes to College in Unova and they’re on break right now.”

“Oh okay,” she says, “I’m going to get ready for bed now, I promised Astrid I’d be at the gym early.”

“Okay, but don’t be home late again,”

“I know!” She says before running off. Augustine just shakes his head at the girl. She’s become more open with them and he’s glad, it’s an improvement compared to when she was first here. He just hoped she’d be like this for Colress. 

Eris was currently trying and failing to take out the braids in her hair. Why did she try to braid her hair like this? She had no idea but it was being an absolute pain to get out. She’s seen Astrid do it like this so tried it for herself but it probably was not her best idea. 

“Eris is everything okay in there?” Augustine asks as he knocked on the door frame. 

“My braids won’t come out,” she says. 

“Do you want some help?”

“ _ Please _ ,” she pleads softly. 

“Yeah,” he says, “Bring the detangler, a bobby pin, and your hairbrush. I’ll meet you in your room,” he says. 

“Okay,” she says with a questioning tone. Why the hell a bobby pin? She grabbed what he asked for and went to her room. 

“Sit,” he says, patting a spot on the bed. She listens and she sits next to him. She shivers a little as she feels the cold mist of the detangler. He starts brushing out the knotted up ends, making it easier for the braids to come apart. He took the closed end of the bobby pin and slides it under a section of hair and gently started to pull up, pulling the portion of hair out and letting the braid fall undone. He took the detangler and did a light spray before brushing it out. He did the same to her other braid and brushed her hair out as a whole. 

“How do you know how to do that?” She asks, surprised that a man with only a son could easily undo her hair and detangler it. 

“Delia taught me in case we were to have a daughter and when I met her two younger cousins,” he says, “It’s just a thing I remember and I guess it came in handy.”

“Thank you, Professor,” she says softly. 

“No problem but you should get some sleep. If you have to leave early, I recommend you get up early too,” he says. She just nods softly and pulls her hair into a ponytail so it doesn’t get knotted, “Good night, Eris.”

“Good night, professor,” she yawns before diving under the blankets and curling up under them. He gives the girl a soft smile before heading to bed himself.

*********

“How come you never told me, I have a niece now? Am I just chop liver to you?” Colress asks as he watched Eris and Ash play with the Pokémon in the garden. Well, Ash was doing more of playing while Eris just occasionally interacted with them. Riolu was sleeping against Eris and as Ash played with Mimey, Eris’s Floette and Mawile, Appletun, Slurpuff, Cinncino, and Vaporeon. Lucario would be in that group but Samurott and Charizard were keeping from doing so. 

“What?” Augustine asks clearly confused by his younger brother’s question. 

“The girl, I can’t believe you never told me I have a niece now,” he says, pointing at Eris. 

“Eris is my ward, Cole. I’m her legal guardian until she’s a Gym Leader,” he says. 

“You’re her dad practically, August,” Colress sighs, “I’ve seen how you treat her. You treat her similar to Ash, you clearly think of her as a daughter.”

“I’m treating her like anyone should treat a child, with kindness,” Augustine argues. 

“Yeah, whatever you say, my dearest older brother,” Colress says with a playful tone and rolling his eyes. 

“Why are you like this,” Augustine groans. 

“Because you won’t admit the truth,”

“I am telling the truth,” Augustine says, shaking his head, “So how’s school going?”

“IIt’s going fine, but my partner for psych is an utter bitch,” 

“Watch your language, there are kids around,” Augustine says, elbowing him.

“They can’t hear us, but whatever,  _ dad _ ,”

“Hey, that’s a compliment. It means I’m doing my job,”

“I sure as hell hope you’re doing your job with two kids to look after, even if one is your ward,” Colress says and sticks his tongue out at his brother. 

“Watch it and of course I would,”

“Good or else I’d smack you and take Ash in as my own son,” Colress says with a small laugh, “Aurea says hi, by the way.”

“You’re not taking Ash and tell her I say hi too,” he says. 

“Have you talked to Lance at all recently?” Colress asks, watching Riolu wake up and challenge Appletun to a play-fight.

“No, not since the funeral. He hasn’t wanted to talk since then,” Augustine says, “He has no interest in me or even Ash and it’s sad. He wants absolutely nothing to do with his own nephew.”

“Well August, he lost his older sister when Delia died. I’m sure he’s hurting just as much as you are, if not more,” Colress sighs. 

“I know, but shutting people out isn’t how you solve anything,” 

“August, everyone handles grief differently. While some aren’t as helpful as people wished, it’s their way,” Colress says. 

Augustine pats his back softly, “What happened to my little brother who hit his head in door frames at any given chance?”

“Okay that was once and I’m taking a psychology class,” he says, “I’m learning about this sort of thing.”

“I’m going to check on Eris. She’s home earlier than normal today,” Augustine says, “You can come with if you want to see Ash.”

Colress agrees to it and follows Augustine into the garden. His Vaporeon takes immediate notice and runs up to him, rubbing his face again Augustine’s leg and trying to jump onto him. Augustine let’s Vaporeon climb into his arms and nuzzle his face. 

“I see you’re Pokémon are as clingy as ever,” Colress says with a small laugh. 

“I know but at least they don’t electrocute me to show their love,” Augustine says as he sets Vaporeon back down so he can play with the kids and other Pokémon. 

“That was the once!”

“Still happened, Cole,”

“Papa! Uncle Cole!” Ash yells excitedly as he saw the two walking over. He ran up to and hugged his uncle.

“Hey there, you little Dieno,” Colress says hugging Ash back. He giggled happily at the name and clung to his uncle. 

“Oh, professor!” Eris says, surprised to see him and gave the man next to him a questioning look. 

“Did something happen at the Gym, Eris?” Augustine asks. 

She shook her head, “No, Astrid has me leave early because Diantha and Siebold came in to talk to her, so she had me leave earlier.”

“She’s playing with me and the others!” Ash says, “Riolu and Mimey are getting along too!”

“Really now? What did you two do to cause this?”

“They’re both baby Pokémon so they both need attention. Mimey was just jealous yesterday,” Eris says, “Ash and I have been getting the two used to each other right now.” Augustine sits down with her and scratching Riolu’s head. He whines softly before seeing who it was, and buries his head into Augustine’s hand as he moved to his lap for more attention upon realizing who it was, while Mimey took this as an invitation to sit on Eris’s lap. 

“Mime mime!” Mimey says as they try to get attention from Eris. She pets his head softly and they nuzzle their head into her hand. 

“Who are you?”

“I’m this man’s younger brother,” Colress says, pointing to Augustine, who’s busy giving Riolu attention, who was being very insistent on being pet. 

“I’m assuming you’re a fairy type specialist?”

She nods, “Yeah, only Mawile and Floette are on my team though. Riolu is too young to be on my team and I already have two fairy types.”

“I see,” Colress nods, “It’s actually a good way to close of your weakness to poison types.”

“Eris! Can you show me how to make a flower crown?” Ash says, running up to her with his arms full of flowers. 

“Eris? That’s an interesting name,” Colress says, raising an eyebrow at the girl. The name itself meant chaos but this girl was the complete opposite. 

“Yeah… my parents had liked mythology related names. Dad said that Eris was the Goddess of Discord and Chaos. I don’t know why they decided on it but it’s probably because of our last name,” she says, shrugging as she grabbed a few flowers and started to show Ash how to connect them to form the colorful ring. Ash tried his best to follow what she did but it was messier than hers but still held together well. By the time he was done, Eris was on her second. 

“Sounds right. Some parents had a weird niche for those types of names. Didn’t mom’s aunt name her oldest Vesta?”

“Yes, but it’s not the worst name to have in the world,” Augustine says. He currently had not only Riolu on his lap, but now also Appletun, Cinnicino, ad Slurpuff.

“Are you just “Dad” to everyone?” Colress asks.

“My college biology teacher always told me that there were no such thing as dumb questions, but you proved her wrong,” Augustine says, “I have been “Dad” since Aurea and I first became trainers.”

“Papa, I made you a flower crown!” Ash says triumphantly as he shows Augustine the flower crown made with daisies and lilies, there was another hanging on his arm that was made with lilies and peonies. He puts it on his father’s head and put the one that had been resting on his arm on Eris’s head, “I made you one too, Neesan!”

“Thank you, Ash,” Augustine smiles as he ruffles Ash’s hair. Colress his trying to hold in a laugh due to Eris’s confused look. He was fully aware of what it meant, especially after hearing Lance call Delia that whenever him and Lance got in fights as teens. “How come you’ve started calling Eris “Neesan”, Ash?” Augustine asks, genuinely interested and want to see Eris’s reaction.

“Because she’s my big sister papa! You said that it means “big sister”!” Ash says. Eris becomes flustered and even more confused, to the point she hides her face in her zip-up. She didn’t understand why Ash felt that way, she’s not around that often and even then she doesn’t hang out  _ that _ much with him due to their age gap.

“Oh Ash, You silly Ducklett,” Colress sighs. His nephew definitely didn’t mean harm by it but he definitely said some interesting things.

“She is!” Ash says, “She’s my Neesan, like how papa is your Niisan!”

Augustine laughs at his son’s antics, “If that’s the case, then what are you to Eris?”

“I’m her otouto!” 

“Here,” she mumbles, as she places a flower crown of poppies and daisies on Colress’s head and one with lilies and peonies on Ash’s head. 

“Thank you, Neesan!” Ash tightly hugs Eris as he runs into to her. 

“So she’s not your daughter still?” Colress asks with a sly smirk as he crouched down next to Augustine.

“Oh shut it, you,” Augustine groans as he shoves Colress, causing the young of the two to fall.

“You don’t deny it!”

“Deny what?” Ash says, turning around to see his uncle laying on the ground.

“Nothing you need to worry about, Ash,” Augustine says, as he covers Colress’s mouth. He pulled his hand back in surprise and disgust as Colress gives him the same sly smile, “Did you really just lick me?”

“You can’t beat me at my own game, August,” Colress laughs, “You can’t silence truth!”

“I can still silence you,” Augustine says. He calls over Samurott and has him lay on top of Colress which the Pokémon happily did. Colress groaned at the sudden weight on top of him and silently cursed at Augustine. This made both children laugh to see the adult struggle with pushing the large Samurott off of him so he could get up and breathe easier.

*********

“Would I be a bad brother if I showed this to my parents?” Colress asked Sophie over the phone.   
“Terrible brother is a better term, but you’d be your parent’s favorite,” she answers as she looks at the three people in front of her. Augustine had went back into the garden after seeing his brother off when Colress left to head to Anistar, in which he ended up falling asleep with Ash on his lap and Eris leaning against his side. All three of them were asleep and their Pokemon were resting with them. Augustine definitely lucked out with this because he had already finished most of his work and Sophie knew better than to snitch to Diantha.

“True and he can’t get me while I’m in Unova or Anistar,” Colress says, “Then again, I’m Aurea’s intern and she could easily kill me if August tells her.”

“Send it to her and tell her that Augustine’s in denial,”

“That  _ could _ work,” Colress tittered. 

“Why do you think I suggested it?”

“I’m  _ so _ going to die when he finds out,” Colress laughed, “But it’ll be worth it.”

“I’m sure he won’t, you’re his brother and Ash loves you,” 

“True, but I doubt he’ll be my saving grace,”

“I can’t believe this is an actual discussion we’re having,” Sophie muses, “It’s Ash, his son. Augustine will spare you for the sake of his son.”

“I guess that’s true. I should hang up soon, I’m almost to Anistar,” he sighs, “I’ll tell you reactions later if you want.”

“I’m sure I’ll find out when our mother calls Augustine to pester him about Eris,”

“Knowing mom, she will do it immediately,” Colress says, “This our mother we’re talking about, she’ll want to know about her new granddaughter.”

“Did Augustine tell you he’s adopting her?”

“Wait, he actually is?”

“No but you said that she-”

“Oh!” Colress laughs, “I said that because August has practically taken her in as his daughter already.”

“You sound like your mother,” she groans.

“I get that a lot but I look like my dad,” he says, “But in all honesty, keep me updated. I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually adopts her.”

“She has parents, they just aren’t around as often,” Sophie sighs. With their job and the laws, it’s perfectly fine for her to live by herself since she’s over ten and a trainer. “That’s the key reason she’s Augustine’s ward right now. They have it this way because they want to make sure the trainers’ only focus is the exam and the battles. If they lived by themselves, that’d be harder because they’d have to look after other things and they wouldn’t have as much time to prepare.”

“Poor girl,” Colress mutters, “I have to go now, the train’s at my stop.”

“Okay, have a good day and make sure not to torment your family too much,”

“No promises,” he quipped before hanging up. Sophie sighed tiredly at the man. He was only a year younger than her but acted like a complete child sometimes. She laughed to herself, she guessed she’d do the same if her sister or her cousin was like this. Appletun let out a mix of a yawn and a squeak as they woke up and stretched their front legs. They looked up at Sophie happily and ran up to her.

“I’m guessing you’re hungry?” She mused as she bent down to scratch their head lightly. Appletun nodded, “I’ll go get your food and you can wake up Augustine so he can help me.”

“Apple!” they beam as they run back to their train and start nudging his leg. Sophie when to go get the Pokemons’ bowls and food as Augustine got up groggily to go help her. She gave a small laugh to see that Ash was very reluctant to let go of his father, making it hard for him to go feed the Pokemon and in Augustine’s attempts to get Ash off, he woke up Eris too.

“Need a hand?” Sophie asks, seeing her boss have trouble with coaxing his young son to let go.

“No, I’ve got it,” he says. Ash whines softly as his father tries to get him to let go, but it doesn’t keep him from trying, “Ash, please, I need you to let go so I can feed the Pokemon,” Augustine says softly. Ash reluctantly lets go and Vaporeon curls up with him. 

“Would you two like some help?” Eris asks.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got it,” Sophie says, giving the young girl a small smile. She gives a small laugh as she sees Augustine try to cheer up Ash as the boy pouts due to him being put down for the time being. She smiled at them, she knew if it weren’t for the fact Eris already had parents, Augustine would adopt her for sure by now. She sighed and carried on with getting the Pokemon food as Augustine went to grab their bowls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Assuming all goes well with rewriting parts of the third chapter, it should be up in two weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so fucking long to post. There’s been a lot of craziness lately with school and I hurt my wrist so this took longer to write then I expected. I am so sorry and I don’t have an estimate for chapter four.

The past year has been hectic. Eris managed to become Lumiose’s Gym Leader back in July but since then, he has rarely seen her. Though with the fact he doesn’t see her often, he only saw her two weeks ago because she had fallen sick and hid it until a meeting with Diantha and she made sure she got rest by having her stay with him. Sadly that’s the most he saw of her over the past few months, the past times have only been for check-ins or meetings. She moved back to her parents' home due to it being closer to the gym and her parents were supposedly staying at home more. He wasn’t too sure about how true it was, with him having to help her when she was sick but he knew that they could’ve been out of the region at that point in time. He worried about her but knew that he should trust her. She wouldn’t lie to him, right?

“Professor, you have a call from Kanto,” Sophie says entering into his office, “It’s Professor Oak.”

“Oh! I’ll be right there,” He says getting up. She pulled him out of his thoughts and back to his work, something he needed to get a better focus on with the meeting that would be in the coming two months and the meeting with Diantha he had later that week.

He walks over to the phone and answers it. “Hello Samuel, is there something I can help you with?”

“Actually, I found something that might interest you. My son found two Mega Stones while in Rota and I thought it’d be a good idea to send them to you. Neither of us can identify them but we thought you could. I sent Blue over to give them to you earlier today so you should get them relatively soon,” Professor Oak says. 

“Thank you, that’s absolutely great,” Augustine says. 

“That’s good to hear. How have you and Ash been as of late?”

“We’ve been doing fine. Ash has managed to make friends with practically all of my Pokemon along with the wild ones that visit,” 

“I’m not surprised. He is yours and Delia’s son, the both of you befriended Pokemon the minute you met them,”

“I’m not so sure about that, Chandelure and Charizard tried lighting me on fire when we first meet and Sammurot constantly drenched me for the first three months,” Augustine says with a small laugh, “Thank you again for the Mega Stones, it’ll be interesting to find out what they are.”

“Have a good day Augustine, call me when you find out what they are,” he says. 

“Yes, of course,” he says nodding. With that Professor Oak ends the call. 

*********

“Ash, it’s time to come in!” He’s dad called from the entrance of the garden. 

“I’m coming!” He says running over to him. Fletchling stays on his shoulder as Ash heads inside. 

“How did you manage to get so much dirt on you?” Augustine says, shaking his head at his son. 

“I fell when climbing one of the trees,”

“Why didn’t you come inside and say something? If you had broken skin, it could’ve gotten infected!” He says.

“But I didn’t! It wasn’t a high fall!”

Augustine sighed, “You need to be a little more careful, Ash. If you get hurt, let me know.”

“I’m not a little kid anymore!” Ash exclaims.

“Yes you are, you’re only five,” Ash pouts at his dad, “Don’t give me that look, you know I get worried about you. It’s part of my job as your dad,” Augustine says ruffling his hair. He stopped and his face morphed into worry, feeling Ash’s forehead, “Are you sure you feel okay? You’re feeling really warm.

“I’m fine! I promise!” 

Augustine gave his son a skeptical look, “Fine if you say so but if it starts to hurt more, let me know. Okay, Ash? And if you start feeling sick, tell me

“Okay,” Augustine smiles softly at his son and pets Fletchling’s head. 

“Dad… what type of Pokémon is Mew?” He’s known the pokemon for two years now but didn’t question it all that much. While it had crossed his mind a few times, he never bothered to ask

“A Mew? Where have you heard of those?” Augustine asks. Was it another one of those dreams? Like the one where he saw Lugia or Giratina? “Mew’s a Mythical Pokémon, the last time one was seen was a thousand years ago. Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering, I saw its name in a book,” he says shrugging, lying to his dad. 

“Is that so?” He mutters, “Well I have to get back to work and someone’s arriving here soon. Why don’t you go upstairs for now and wash the dirt off.”

“Okay,” He says, pouting slightly before running upstairs. 

“Professor, Blue’s here now,” Sophie says. 

“Got it, thank you for letting me know,” he says giving her a court nod and a small smile. 

“It’s good to see you again Professor,” Blue says, “It’s been a while.”

“It has. What were you doing on Rota of all things though? Not many people go there, especially as of late,”

“Oh, nothing new, just there for research purposes. Dad wanted me to check out the Tree of Life and I found those at the base of it,” Blue says. 

“Aren’t you a gym leader in Kanto?”

“I’m stepping down for a bit, some else is the Viridian City Gym Leader now,” Blue says, “Dad said I should take a break considering how Gary’s still young and how I need to spend more time with him as his father. I’m sure you understand that.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to believe how much time has gone by,” 

“Time goes by fast when you’re a parent, it feels like just yesterday that you held them for the first time but in reality, it’s been years,” Blue says shrugging. He hands him the box holding the two Mega Stones, “Take good care of these, this is the first seeing anything like them.”

“I will and thank you again for bringing them here,” Augustine says, “Maybe these are the only ones of its kind.”

“Most likely if there were in the Tree of Life of all places and someone has yet to find them,” Blue says, “I should get going. Gary wasn’t that happy about me having to leave.”

“Yes, of course. It was good to see you again and thank you again for these,” he says. Blue nods and waves goodbye to him as he leaves. 

Augustine takes them to the lab to see if any of the machines could recognize them. He opens the box to reveal the two stones. They were tightly packed with plenty of cushioning to ensure they weren’t to get damaged. They both were a pale shade of pink but the DNA symbol was different. While one was a darker shade of pink and blue, the other was a solid iridescent blue. 

“Have you seen these ones before?” Sophie asks looking at them, “They’re nothing like other ones I’ve seen.”

“I know. This is a first for me,” He says, “I didn’t think any would be like this.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“Considering that these two came from Rota, my main guess is Mew. It would explain their coloration and it would make sense why they were found so close to the Tree of Life,”

“Are you sure? The only other legendary that’s able to Mega Evolve is Rayquaza,” Sophie says, giving him a confused look.

“If it isn’t then we should research other Pokemon that could possibly be correlated to the stones,” he says. They couldn’t use the equipment as they had hoped to. These were completely new to them, but they had little hope that Gurrkin would know. “Can you call Gurkinn and check in with him?”

“Of course Professor,” she says and leaves the room to the phone.

*********

“I don’t think papa likes you, Mew,” Ash says with a small frown. He was sitting with the small Pokémon on his bed as he finished up the little homework he had from school. 

“Mew?” 

“He didn’t look that happy with me when I asked about you. I know he likes Pokemon but… he just seems to get weird when you or some others are mentioned,” he says softly. Mew whined softly. It was distrust and caution his father was feeling and they were to blame for it. It made them sick that it was their fault. The boy still had so much to learn about himself but they knew nothing could be said until he was older.

“Mew,” Mew whines as they nuzzle the boy. For now, they’ll do what they can for the boy. 

“It’s okay, Mew, I like you,” he says and hugs them, “Papa hugs me too when I’m sad.”

“Mew Mew!” they squeal. Arceus made a good choice choosing this boy as the chosen one. Ash smiles at them as the chatter, while he couldn’t understand it, he was happy to see them cheer up. 

“Are there any other Mew or are you the only one?”

“Mew…” They shake their head softly. They were the last one and there weren’t any other Pokémon like them. At least they didn’t think there was any more, they were the only ones to survive the extinction. 

“Oh… do you at least have friends with other Pokémon?” Ash asks. 

Mew nodded excitedly, “Mew Mew!” They say as they fly around Ash, rambling excitedly about the other Legendary Pokémon. Ash giggles at the Pokémon’s energy and excitement as they talk. 

“That's good to hear!” Ash says, smiling at them. 

Ash smiled at the small pink creature as they flew around the room rambling nonstop about their friends. 

“Mew? Mew mew!” Mew says in a questioning tone as they turn their head to the side. 

Ash gave them a questioning look before realizing the nature of the question, “Not really… no one at school talks to me and none of papa’s Pokémon are really much of my friends. They’re really nice but they’re really just watching me a lot of the time.”

“Mew,” they whine softly and nuzzles Ash’s face softly. 

“That’s okay though, papa says I’ll meet a lot of new people when I go on my journey! Not to mention you’re my friend!” Ash says beaming at Mew. Mew frowns. While their happy Ash sees them as a friend, it’s still important that he meets kids his own age and they know they can’t stay with him forever. They land on his lap and curls up there. Ash just lets them and pets their fur as Mew falls asleep. 

*********

“Ash?” Augustine hadn’t seen him since earlier and he didn’t answer when he called him over for dinner. It was a given he was slightly worried considering it wasn’t like Ash to ignore people if they called his name. He looked into the room due to the lack of response. Ash had fallen asleep as he leaned against the with a Pokémon on his lap. Augustine gave his son and the Pokémon a questioning look. The Pokémon was pink but too small to be Slurpuff and they were a solid pale pink. He walked up to the two and saw it was Mew. 

“Why…” was all Augustine could mutter as he looked at the sleeping Legendary. He remembered the time he first saw them and here they were again. The only difference was that they were asleep with his son instead of watching him. Then it hit him like a sack of bricks. Mew was in no way here to cause trouble but was here to watch over him. “Oh Arceus, I’m such an idiot,” he groans. He tried to wake up Ash but Ash barely stirred. “Ash? Hey, it’s time to get up,” he says, trying to shake the boy awake. Augustine sighs as Ash refused to wake up and let him sleep. Ash felt slightly feverish but it was nothing too different from earlier. He made a mental note to check on it in the morning as he moves Mew from Ash’s lap to the side of the pillow and moves Ash so he’s laying down. 

Ash stirs slightly and looks at his father, his eyes only half open and his vision was blurry, “Papa?” he asks tiredly. Mew doesn’t stir, dead asleep even with the movement and talking.

“Hey there, my little Deerling, how are you feeling? Dinner’s done,” Augustine says quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping Pokemon by his head. 

Ash just nods before burying himself in the blankets, “Tired,” he says softly. 

“Are you hungry?” Ash just shakes his head and starts to fall asleep again. He sits down next to the bed and gives his son a worried look, “You should eat something and you can’t sleep all day.”

Ash whines softly, “I’m tired papa.”

“I know but you still should try to eat,”

“I’m not hungry,’ Ash whines, pulling the blanket over his head.

“Oh, Ash... “ Augustine sighs. He decides to leave him be for now and let him get some sleep but still worries for him. He gives Ash and Mew one last glance before walking out of the room and closing the door.

*********

“August, it’s good to hear from you again! How are you and Ash?” his mother asked in a sweet tone. It was seven-thirty, his mother most likely was making dinner right now and his father would be home from work soon.

“I’m going alright. Work is going well, aside from the constant monthly meetings,” he says, “Ash is doing good as well. He’s asleep right now-”

“Really? You and your brother would never fall asleep before eight unless you were sick! Is something wrong, sweetie?”

“Yeah, Ash is a little feverish right now and I wanted to ask about that,” Augustine says. The noise jostled Cinncino, who had been sleeping on his lap as he worked, which made him fully aware of what his trainer was going. 

“Cino!” Cinncino cries happily trying to grab the phone. 

His mother gave a small laugh, “I see your Cinncino is still a people Pokémon.”

“Yeah, but I’m still his favorite,” Augustine says, he pulls the Pokémon away and tries to get him back to laying down instead of trying to taking to the phone, “Back to the original topic, Ash isn’t feeling well and is sleeping but refusing to eat. What did you do to get us to eat when we were like that?”

“At his age, you rarely got sick and even then, you never really refused to eat. Now your brother on the other hand, if he was sick, he could not stomach anything and he wouldn’t eat no matter what you said to him,” she recalls, “I can have your father call you when he gets home if you’d like, August. He might know.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” Augustine sighs. 

“If you’re sure, but don’t be afraid to call if he doesn’t improve,” 

“I will,” 

“How has Eris been?” Augustine was not expecting that question. Sure, both of his parents knew about her due to Colress and some of his calls but aside from that, he didn’t really think they cared all that much. 

“She’s… she’s had her days. She’s living back at home, supposedly her parents are living at home more often but I don’t know how true that is. She was just sick a few weeks ago but I was the one who took care of her since her parents weren’t home,” Augustine explained, “She’s really not as close with Ash and I as Colress likes to say. Maybe when she was my ward, but now, she’s more closed off and she really only talks to Thorne, Helena, and maybe Maeve.”

“Who are those?”

“Santalune, Cyllage, and Laverre City’s Gym Leaders respectively. They’re the closest in age compared to her,” Augustine answers, “Thorne’s nineteen, Helena’s twenty-one, and Maeve is twenty-two.”

“How old is Eris now?”

“She’ll be thirteen a month,”

“She’s awfully young to be living by herself for weeks on end,” his mother notes, “Are you sure she should?”

“Twelve is also young to have a full-time job and ten is young to be legally allowed to travel a whole region,” Augustine counters, “As much as I don’t like it, this her own choice and I’m not allowed to interfere.”

“Augustine, have all those late nights been clouding your common sense!” His mother exclaims, “She’s a child and needs a stable family in her life, not parents leaving for work and staying away for Xerneas knows how long!”

“I know, I know, but there’s not much I can do. With her being a trainer, it’s not like we can charge them for neglect,” he tries to explain, “If I could do something, I would! I don’t want to seem overbearing and she doesn’t like it when I offer her help.” 

“Augustine, if she pushes you away, don’t let her. Make sure she knows you’re there for her no matter what.”

Augustine scoffs, “If only you listened to your own advice when I was her age.”

“Listen, I know your father and I messed up, but we learned from our mistakes. I know you’re still mad with us, but we’re willing to help you,” his mother scolds.

“I know… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” he mutters, “Mom, I don’t know what to do and I don’t want to push her further away.”

“I know, you need to just make her aware your there for her a try talking to her,”

“I will. Before I leave for Johto for those meetings, I will,” he sighs.

“Good. If you don’t, I will go to Lumious and make sure you do,” she warns.

“I will, I promise,”

“Okay, I’m holding you to it,” she says, “Now, I have to go. Goodbye, and tell Ash I say ``hi.”

“Of course, talk to you soon,” he sighs. His mother hangs up and he sets his phone. Cincinno whines because he had eagerly waited to chatter to his trainer’s mother, but sadly he could not this time. He curls up on his trainer’s lap again, trying to fall back to sleep but the rushed and heavy footsteps of Slurpuff alerts him. Slurpuff runs up to Augustine and tries to pull him towards Ash’s bedroom. Augustine gives her a worried look and puts Cinncino down so he could follow the small Pokémon. Cinncino follows close behind, curious to why Slurpuff and Augustine are so worried. 

“Ash? Is everything okay?” Augustine asks walking into the room. Ash is curled in a tight ball with Lucario and Mew looking over him. The former of the two is trying to use what seemed like a gentle heal pulse on as while Mew tries to calm the small child down. Augustine walks over and picks Ash up, holding him in his arms. He’s silently crying and his temperature had spiked. 

“P-papa, d-don’t go. I’m scared,” Ash sobs. He clings tightly to Augustine’s shirt as he cries and shakes. 

“I won’t, Ash. I won’t,” Augustine whispers. Why is he so scared? He hasn’t had those nightmares in a long time, why now? Augustine holds Ash as he goes to get a thermometer, needing to know how bad the fever had grown. It was barely a fever when he first checked but now, it’s very hot, which worries him greatly. Mew eyes widen as they see Augustine. He just ignored them completely though, unlike others who’ve seen them. “Ash, it’s okay. You don’t need to cry,” Augustine whispers softly. 

Mew looks over Augustine’s shoulder to see how Ash clings tightly to him. He’s sobbing hard as Augustine tries soothing him. They go against their better judgment and goes up to Ash, nuzzling his cheek softly. Augustine does react, he’s too worried about why his son is scared and crying to bother with why the Mew is there. 

“I-I heard crying, papa a-and yelling!” he sobs, “Someone was hurt!”

“It’s okay Ash, no one’s hurt. You’re okay,” Augustine murmurs, “When did this happen?”

“I-in my d-dream,”

“It was just a dream, it’s okay Ash,” Augustine hides his worry. He lets Ash cry as he grabbed the thermometer from the cabinet. He waits until Ash is calm to take his temperature, he was still shaking and crying uncontrollably. 

Ash’s cries make Mew feel like they’ve been punched in the stomach. Ash was the gods’ Chosen, his future encounters come in the form of dreams but for him, they’re nightmares. He will be young when he first starts his job as Chosen. These only come within six years to their first encounter and he’s to be ten in four and a half years. They whine softly and nuzzle Ash’s cheek to try and soothe him. Ash’s sobs and shaking come to a slow stop, but he’s sniffling. 

“Ash, I need you to put the thermometer under your tongue,” Augustine says. Ash shakes his head and hides his face, “Please, I need to check your fever.” Ash is hesitant but complies. He holds it there until it starts to go off, alerting them that it has a steady temperature. 39.1 was what it read, much higher than what it should be. 

“Papa, I wanna go back to bed…” Ash whines softly.

“I know, I know, but I want to make sure you’re okay first,” 

Ash just ignored him, burying his face in his father’s shoulder as he tried to fall back asleep. “M’tired, papa.”

“Ash, please, I’m worried about you. Your fever’s high, I have to take you to the hospital,” Augustine says, “Once this is dealt with, you can get more rest, but finding out what’s wrong comes first, sweetie.”

“Okay, papa…” Ash mutters softly. Mew transforms into a Swirlix and buries themself into his arms. Augustine grabs his car keys, scared about what could be wrong. Ash’s breathing was weak and it worried Augustine. Ash has never been this sick and he knew that there was a bad flu going around but both of them had gotten the vaccine. He knew Eris got it because it was a legal requirement for her job. He walked downstairs to the lab doors and headed out, locking the door before leaving.

********

The minute he got there and filled out the needed paperwork, they had called for Ash. He was worried when he was asked to leave to the waiting room. They had narrowed it down to being the flu and there was a terrible feeling of dread eating at his stomach and throat. He was sure how long he had been in the waiting room with his mind bombarding him with thoughts of what could be wrong with his son. He hoped that it would be minor enough that Ash could be taken home and given medication, but something told him that wasn’t the case.

“Um, Mr. Sycamore, the doctor, wants to speak with you so if you would come with me please,” calls one of the nurses from the doorway. Augustine just nods and follows her to the room his son was in and where the doctor was waiting. The doctor himself has a solemn look when he sees the two.

“Mr. Sycamore, I think it may be best to keep your son overnight here until his fever is lower. Right now it’s rising from the looks. You said it was 39.1 when you first took it, it’s now 39.5. When we get it to at least 37.2, that’s when it would be safer to have him home,” he explains.

“Of course, I understand,” Augustine says nodding.

“Don’t worry sir, your son will be fine. Ms. Beatrice and I will keep a close eye on him and let you know if anything changes. For now, you’ll have to wait,”

“Y-yes, I understand,”

“Thank you for understanding, I recommend you head home. I promise your son’s in good hands,”

Augustine just nods softly. Worried and scared were an understatement at this point, he was worried about Ash and scared to know if he would make it. It was tearing at his throat, the thought of his son not making it. He turns and heads back to his car, heading home due to the time and because he couldn’t stay with his son.

The whole car ride, he tries to hold back his tears. Didn’t want to lose his son, he already lost his wife and her family, he didn’t need his son gone either. Her family… he hasn’t seen them since the funeral and even then, her father and brother gave him the cold shoulder the whole time. Lusamine gave him sympathy but glared at him at any given chance, Clare wasn’t much better. He didn’t want to face them, he was sure they still hate him for her death. 

Once he’s home he curled up on his bed, sobbing. He hated this feeling of dread that comes with the fact his son has been hospitalized. His body shakes as he cries, crying over his son and his wife. She was already gone, he could not handle his son leaving too. Cinncino whines softly and curls up against Augustine’s chest. Slurpuff and Mew follow suit, the ladder purring softly and nuzzling him much like how they would nuzzle Ash. Lucario came over, Augustine’s phone in hand. Heset’s down next to his trainer before nuzzling and patting his head. This man practically raised the jackal Pokemon. He would do anything to comfort the poor man and comfort him until his son was home. Augustine sat up and rubbed the tears from his eyes. Lucario was urging him to call his parents, something Lucario did every time he was upset. He sighs and dials up his parents, he waits for them to answer. It gets through one ring before his mother picks it up. 

“Auggie, sweetie, is everything okay?”

He takes a shaky breath, “Ash is at the hospital for the flu right now, they want to keep him there until his fever’s lowered. When I first checked on him, he was barely warm but when I checked after calling you it was 39.1 Celcius.”

“Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry! Do you want us to stop by and visit?” she says, “How are you holding up? I know this is brand new to you and I can tell you're near tears.”

“I could be a lot better and you don’t have to, but I won’t stop you if you come. Mom... I’m scared, I already lost Delia. The doctor said the fever was only rising, I’m scared if it gets too high.”

“Auggie, he’ll be okay, I’m sure. He’s your son, he’s strong like you,”

“I’m not that strong, mom, I’ve been crying since I got home. Mom, -”

“Augustine, you are, I know you are. Even after Delia died I saw you push through for Ash. Ash is like a mini-you, he’ll make it,”

“Thanks, mom, but it still hurts knowing he is hospitalized,”

“And it will, but don’t drag yourself down for it. I know it’s hard but Ash needs you to stay strong and you better shape up or I’ll put your father on the phone,” she replies, “Sweetie, you should get some rest and visit Ash when you can tomorrow.”

“Okay, I-I will… Goodnight mom,”

“Goodnight, sweetie and hug Ash for me,”

“Okay,” he sighs before hanging up. He switches into pajamas before heading to bed, knowing that his mother was right. He needed to get himself together because he still has trainers and Pokemon to care for even with his son being sick. When he lays down there’s a heavy weight immediately on his chest. It was Mew sleeping on top of him and purring loudly, trying to comfort him. They knew that Augustine wasn’t the chosen one, but his son was. His son was sick and the man felt terrible about it.

*********

“The house is much cleaner than the last time I was here,” Zenzi muses looking around her cousin’s house.

“I couldn’t fall asleep last night so I cleaned up in here to try and burn some energy,” Eris shrugs as she puts the full kettle on the stove.

“Please be kidding Eris. You were just sick,” Eris fell silent at the comment. “Eris I swear to Sundtinger, if you stayed up all night, I will make the chairman drop you until you take care of yourself.”

“You can’t do that, that’s an abuse of your power as his successor!” 

“Then don’t stay up all night,” Zenzi bites back, “Eris, I don’t like that you’re living by yourself. I don’t see why you decided to live back home when your parents are away.”

“I don’t want to bother anyone,”

“Well, you won’t take care of yourself,” Zenzi sighs, “Sit down, Eris. I’ll make coffee, you just sit down.” 

Eris just nodded and sat down at the small dining room table, “Sorry, Zenzi…”

“No… it’s fine, just look after yourself more,” Zenzi says, “Did you know that Ash is sick in the hospital? Augustine’s not sure when he’ll be out.”

“How did you of all people find out?”

“Because I needed to check in with him for some paperwork. The poor man looked like he barely had slept and as it Turned out, the previous night, his son was hospitalized for the flu,” she says. She brought over the french press full of coffee and sat down with her cousin. “Pulled a few strings and convinced both Diantha and Mr. Bisset to move their meetings to later next month.”

Eris shook her head and muttered something under her breath. Her cousin could be as conniving as a Serviper sometimes. “I hope you don’t have any ulterior motives with this.”

“I may be a bitch but I have better morals than that. I know how hard it can be to focus on anything when someone you care about if they’re hurt or sick,” Zenzi says, “When Alois got sick a few years back, mom wouldn’t stop pacing until he was better and even afterward, she was constantly worried about him.”

“Sounds like the professor,” Eris mumbles

“Well yeah, her and the professor are better parents than yours,” Zenzi laughs, “No shit she’d sound like him.”

“Why do you say that? My parents are home more often and they still talk to me,” Eris asks, “They’re not that bad.”

“I don’t like your parents,” Zenzi says, “They leave you alone for months on end.”

“Well yeah… but they’re busy with work like you are,”

“I make sure I can spend Sundays with you, Eris. Your parents have trouble spending one day a month with you without doing something for work.”

“I know… but they’re my parents, I still care about them…”

“I don’t care! They just leave you alone and rarely acknowledge you!” Zenzi retaliates, “I will stop complaining when they start being your parents!”

“Zenzi, just drop it! They come home tomorrow, I’ll talk to them during dinner,” Eris yells, “Please… just drop it…”

“Fine, but you better or else,” Zenzi says, “I’m worried about you, and your parents’ negligence worries me more.

“I will, I will,” Eris says softly, “Mom had to visit her parents last week and sent me a Wolheide plush… do you think I could give it to Ash? I think he would like it a little more than me.”

“Classic Eris, regifting gifts,” Zenzi says in a mocking tone, “But seriously, you can if you want, but just make sure you won’t regret it.”

“Why would I? It’s not like it has any actual importance to me. My mom did get it for me but… there’s no feeling behind it. It feels like she got it for me out of obligation,” Eris says softly.

“Are you giving this to him out of obligation?”

“No, Wolheide represents good health. With Ash being sick and all, I thought he would have better use of the plush than I would.”

“You were sick too a few weeks ago, so she could’ve gotten it for you because of that,”

“She doesn’t know that. She only got it for me because it’s a fairy type,” 

Zenzi raises an eyebrow, “Really? That’s why?”

“Wish I was kidding,”

Zenzi rubs her temples as she groans, “Eris, you need to see these faults. I’m sure a little part of them cares, but it’s not enough! They aren’t home, they rarely contact you, and they just let you live alone! I’ve seen how your mom treats you when she works at home! Eris… I’m begging you, you need to do something more than sit and wait!”

“I will, just give me time. I said they’ll be home tomorrow,” Eris mutters softly, “Zenzi, if my parents were really that bad, I’m sure I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Zenzi was about to speak up but decides against it. Eris was going to continue to defend their actions, even when she knew that she shouldn’t. She sighs softly and smiles at her cousin, “When do you plan on going?”

“I don’t know, I just don’t want to run into the professor while I’m there,” 

“I’ll stop by his lab since he’s busy right now working on finding out what a new mega stone is linked to. You can call me when you need me to pick you up, okay?”

“Yeah… That works for me,”

*********

Augustine sighs tiredly as he looks over the elements within the mega stone. He tried comparing it to his Charizardite, but nothing about it showed up different. The sole fact that there were such few signs to it and the fact that there were no signs to what Pokemon it was related to. 

“Augustine, it’s possible it could be universal,” Gurkinn suggests looking over the some and comparisons of the three stones.

“That… that doesn’t make much sense. How could a mega stone be universal,” 

“When I studied aura in Rota, there were a few books that talked of such a thing. Every time the kingdom was in danger before Aura Guardians were an acceptable thing, a Pokemon would appear. It could change form in battle but the forms would differ constantly. It was rare to see the same form more than once,” Gurkinn says.

“How were they not acceptable? I know their belief system differs from their own in Rota, but-”

“Augustine, back then, people were not as accepting. Aura Guardians had the same fate as those the church deemed witches. It wasn’t until the rise of King Arlon that things changed. Speaking of which, he was rumored to have been the holder of the Pokemon when he became king, but the creature has been seen since the disappearance of Sir Aaron,” 

“I’ll look into it more later,”

“I can have an older friend of mine talk more to you about it. He’s in no way an aura user but his family follows the religion. Yuuki Kawaguchi is his name,”

“Kawaguchi? Is his wife Lorette Kawaguchi?”

“Yes actually, do you know the two already?”

“No, but Eris does. Lorette is her father’s older sister,” he says.

“Her parents are also anthropologists known for their research on Rota. I’m sure you could ask her too,”

‘She’s busy and I doubt that she follows the religion,”

“She wears a necklace with the symbol of Aura Users like how some wear ones with the Ring of Arceus on it,” Gurkinn suggests, “You could also talk to Zenzi. She may know a thing or two about this.”

“Do you think it could be Mew?”

Gurkinn raises an eyebrow, “Possibly, it would make sense on why the Pokemon hasn’t appeared in a thousand years.” His phone went off, he looked down to see who was calling him and sighs, “I need to go, my son’s calling me. I’m sure they need someone to watch over Korrina again. We’ll talk more Tuesday and don’t worry yourself sick over Ash. I’ve seen my kids and in-laws do it, it’ll only cause more trouble.”

“I’ll make sure of it, see you Tuesday,” Augustine says. The moment the older man left, another person walked into his office.

“Sorry to disturb you, but I need to talk to you,” Zenzi says, smiling sweetly at him.

Augustine is surprised to see her of all people. Zenzi only visited in the past for updates on Eris or questions about paperwork. “Yes, of course. Is something wrong?”

“I was just curious about a few things. Is it possible to press charges of neglect two years after a person started living alone and would you become Eris’s secondary guardian?” Zenzi asks, her sweet smile still on her face that Augustine knew hid her ulterior motives.

“I’m still legally her secondary guardian… Zenzi, did something happen to Eris?”

“Her parents are shit, Augustine dear,” Zenzi says with a sickly sweet voice, “I know Ash loves her as a sister and you’ve cared more about her than her parents. C’m-”

“Zenzi, I’m serious, what’s going on with Eris and her parents? I can’t do anything until I know what exactly is going on!”

Zenzi’s look darkened as she glared at Augustine, “She’s lying Sycamore. Her parents have been gone for almost a month and they’re only going to be back for a week before leaving again. Her parents are neglecting her!”

“I will help you as much as I can as long as you can prove it’s neglect. As much as I wish it could be marked as that, it’s legal as long as the right paperwork was signed ahead of time,” Augustine sighs, “Zenzi, until then, I can only do so much.”

“Fine,” Zenzis mutters, “But promise me, if I can press charges, you’ll become her primary guardian. She’s like my sister and you’re the only person I trust her with.”

“I will, Zenzi. As her secondary, if anything happens with her parents, it’ll get moved to primary anyways,”

“Oh thank fuck,” Zenzi sighs, “you’re the most pure-hearted man I know.” 

Augustine is confused by her statement and decides not to question it, “N-no problem, I guess,” he says nervously, “And can you hold back the swearing, please? I know Ash isn’t home but it’s still not a thing I really want in the lab.”

“Oh, I’m sorry sir!”

“No, it’s fine, but just keep it in mind next time,” Augustine smiles, “Is there anything else you need?”

“Yes actually, I need some help with a report and I need to ask you some things about the lab!”

Augustine just nods, “Of course. I’ll make some coffee and then we can go over it.”

“Thank you very much, sir,”

*********

“So where’d you get the plush?” Augustine asks, running a hand through Ash’s hair. The fever had lowered to the point where people could safely visit. Zenzi told him before she left that it had only been a diversion but everything about Eris was true. 

“Eris said it was a Wolheide,” Ash says, hugging the plush close to his chest. It was large compared to him. Why it was so big was unknown to him.

“Do you know what region it’s from?”

“Centani. Eris said they’re really rare and that her mom’s only seen them once,” Ash says, “Papa, where’s Centani?”

“The region right next to Kalos, I know Zenzi is constantly traveling between here and Centani,” Augustine says, “The doctor said you’ll be able to go home tomorrow.”

“Really! I wanna go home already! I want Slurpuff and the others!”

“They miss you too. Lucario and Fletchling are getting restless with you being away,” Augustine laughs, “Cinccin, on the other hand,d is mad because no one’s sneaking him treats.”

“It wasn’t me! I swear!” 

Augustine laughs as his son tries to deny that he never gave Cinccino extra treats, “Cinccino trying to get more says otherwise.” He hugs Ash tightly, “I’m glad you’re doing better, it’s been too quiet at home.”

“Don’t you like the quiet though, papa? And aren’t the others there to keep you company?”

“Yes but Sophie isn’t at the lab every day and the Pokemon spend a lot of time in the garden. The few times they aren’t is when I wake up with twenty kilos or more on my chest,”   
“Why? Papa, how many Pokemon is that?”

“That’s Slurpuff, Cinccino, and Vaporeon. They’ve been lonely during the day without you home,” Augustine explains, “They miss you a lot too and Sophie misses having you around too.”

Ash giggles at his dad, “Do they all really lay on you?”

“Oh absolutely. Lucario used to do it as a Riolu. He was very young though and was in constant need of care,” Augustine says, “He was tiny compared to most Riolus and had to be on a special diet until he evolved.”

“He does sound that scary, papa,” Ash says, “He sounds like a…”

“A Lilipup?”

“Yeah!”

“That’s what your Aunt Rea always says. Lucario is one huge softie” Augustinetine says, “I’ll see if she has pictures of Lucario as a Riolu. I have a few but she was always getting pictures of us and our Pokemon.”

Ash hugs the Wolheide plush tightly and lays his head on it, “Papa, what’s Giratina?”

Augustine was never expecting that question and especially not with what they were just talking about, “Why do you ask?”

“Eris said something about it. She was talking about Fracktinger when talking about it,”

Augustine sighed deeply. Eris compared many things as something that came from Giratina, “It’s a Legendary Pokemon. It’s known for being destructive.”

“But… Papa, that doesn’t make sense!”

Augustine laughs “Pokemon are one of the world’s mysteries, Ash. Sometimes they don’t make sense.”

“Papa, when I go home, can I do something for Eris to thank her,”

“Depends on what you want to do. Since her birthday is coming up, we can make her something for her birthday,”

“Yes! Let’s make her a cake, papa!” Ash exclaims, nearly vibrating in his seat.

“For someone who’s sick, you still have a lot of energy,”

“I’ve been sitting here for days though, papa,” Ash whines, “Papa… the doctors were talking yesterday and they said that I was immuno…”

“Immunocompromised?”

“Yeah! What does that mean, papa?”

“It means that your immune system is weak so you get sick easier,” Augustine says softly, “That’s probably why you got as sick as you did.”

Ash frowns at him and gives him a confused look, “Papa, is something wrong?”

“I’m just worried. Growing up Colress and I never got this sick. Seeing you get so sick and needed to stay in the hospital for a week scared me. I don’t want to lose you,”

“Like how you lost mama?”

“Yeah. You two are both very important to me. Losing your mom was hard on me, I can’t imagine how hard it would be to lose you,” 

Ash hugged his father tightly and buried his face in his chest, “I’m okay now, papa. Don’t worry.”

Augustine hugs him back, “I know and I’m glad, you should be more careful after this.”

“I know and I will papa,” Ash beams, his plush still in his arms too. He pulled back and held up his plush, “Papa, what should we name my plush?”

“Depends, do you want a Centanin name since it’s from Centani or something else,”

“Can I name it after mama?”

“I don’t see why not, but why?”

“Because I never got to know her but I feel like mama’s here when I have the plush,”

Augustine knew kids would say the weirdest things, but this was out there. Though there was a lot of sentiment around it. He wouldn’t be surprised if Delia had been watching over Ash while he was here. He smiles, “Do you remember mama’s name?”

“I always hear Hanko and Delia when you and uncle Cole talk about her,”

“Her name was Hanako but she often went by Delia because it was her middle name and it was her grandmother’s name,” Augustine explains, “I think Hanako might be fitting for your Wolheide.”

“Then I’m gonna name her Hanako!” Ash exclaims, smiling at him. Augustine smiles and ruffles his hair. He was glad to see his son had his energy back and wasn’t half asleep like the past few visits. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who want to see what Wolheide looks like: https://lunar-requests-a-battle.tumblr.com/post/612265038438334464/this-is-wolheide-itll-be-in-the-new-chapter-of

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback on this would be absolutely great. This is my first time doing a story like this and please don’t be rude in the comments


End file.
